Reunions
by lolpersephone
Summary: When Irving had informed Willow Amell that Anders died during the rebellion something in her died. So what was he doing at Vigil's Keep? Rated M for later chapters. F!Amell/Anders, slight Nathaniel/F!Cousland
1. Chapter 1

"What in the Maker's name was _that_ Willow?" Commander Rhiannon Cousland yelled. Willow did not flinch. "You could have _killed_ him!" In all of their time fighting the blight, Rhiannon had never known her friend to attack a comrade, much less be unnecessarily violent.

"But I didn't," Willow calmly replied, which grated on Rhiannon's nerves.

"The man had just underwent his joining, and within an hour of him waking up _you shoot lightning at him?_"

"He deserved it. Honestly _Commander_, you should have just let the Templars take him," she spat out the title with disdain.

Rhiannon let out an angry sigh as she moved to the window of her study. "We needed another mage. I can't have _you_ be the only available healer, and luckily enough he seems quite adept at it."

"That's just the thing Rhia," Willow's voice went soft. Rhiannon turned around, surprised at the sudden change in tone. Willow's eyes had began to tear up. "He'll _abandon_ you when you need him most." Willow buried her face in her hands and began to sob. At first Rhiannon was startled at the image. She had never seen her friend this way. Willow had always been the one to comfort her. All of the fury leaked out of Rhiannon, and she held Willow just as Willow had done at Ostagar after her relayed what happened to her parents, after she killed Howe, after she spared Loghain, and after Alistair's and Anora's wedding. This Anders was already seeming to be more trouble than he was worth.

"Andraste's knickerweasels!" Anders growled through his teeth as he applied a poultice to his burned skin. It wasn't a powerful spell, but it was powerful enough to singe him. He supposed he should have been lucky, had she _really_ wanted him dead, he'd be in little mage pieces by now. He let out another hiss as he applied more poultice.

He hadn't expected her to be there. He heard from the Templars that caught him that she had returned to the tower to reform the relationship between the mages and the chantry, despite her being a Grey Warden. He shook his head at his stupidity. She hated that place as much, if not more, than he did. If she had any reason at all to leave, she would have. Anders tied the last bandage around his arm before he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Hold on," he answered. He pulled his robe over his head before opening the door.

"Are you alright, Anders?" Rhiannon asked him.

"I, uh, yes. Yes I am alright. They were only minor wounds." He searched her face, trying to figure out how much she knew. He didn't get any answers.

"Good, I'll need you to help with the remainder of the healing. I fear that our current healer has...exhausted herself." Anders knew it was a lie, Willow was blessed with an enormous amount of mana and it was highly unlikely that she had run out that quickly, but he didn't press the issue.

"Yes Commander." Anders nodded in her direction before heading out the door towards the rest of the wounded.

"And Anders?" He turned to the commander and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I highly suggest you leave her alone. I can't afford to have you blown or torn to bits."

"Ye-yes Commander," he stammered out before turning towards the makeshift infirmary.

Willow woke up the next morning on a hard bed to the sound of water dripping on the floor. _Anders_, she thought to herself, _you're supposed to be dead._ She wondered if the shock of him being alive was what made her do what she did to him. Or perhaps she was angry at the fact that the First Enchanter had lied to her, and if he lied to her about that, he could have lied to her about many other things. Her expression darkened as she touched her lower abdomen. Or maybe she was only angry at how Anders deserted her. Not wanting to think about it anymore, she rolled over and stared at the ceiling. It was leaking. Fortunately for her the leak was nowhere near anything important.

"Thank the creators for small miracles, I suppose," she murmured to herself. After a few moments of staring at the ceiling, Willow sighed and got out of bed. She changed into a clean robe and attempted to tame her wavy auburn hair before leaving her room.

The Keep seemed to be bustling with life compared to the night before. Everyone was running around in an attempt to clean up after the darkspawn invasion. Willow shuddered at the organization behind it. She was definitely going to have to speak with Rhiannon about that. Her growling stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since significantly before the darkspawn attack. She made her way to the kitchens, hoping that there was something edible there.

Willow was surprised at how clean the kitchen was, but reminded herself that the new recruits were probably ravenous, so cleaning it first was probably the most logical choice. She made her way to the larder in the hopes of finding at least cheese and bread, but what she found was equal parts alarming, and hilarious. Anders was sitting in the larder stuffing his face with anything he could get his hands on. Willow had to repress a giggle, and reminded herself _who_ this man was. Anders turned and faced the intruder. He was met with a familiar pair of bright green eyes. Well, vaguely familiar. They were colder now. The mirth and innocence that he used to find in them must have been beaten out by the blight. He swallowed loudly and tried his best at giving her a charming grin before handing her a wedge of cheese and some bread.

"Afraid it's all we have," Anders said to her, his voice slightly strained. Hopefully for him, she wouldn't shoot lightning at him again.

"I'm surprised," she responded coolly. "From the way you have attacked the rest of the food in here, I would have figured _nothing_ would be left for the rest of us." Nothing about her tone was jovial. It was only cold sarcasm intended to inflict pain. Anders shot her a cat-like grin, which only seemed to make her expression colder. Willow grudgingly took the food from him, turning it over in her hands. "Besides, you were _never_ one to think of others, and how your actions would effect them...were you?" That remark hurt him a lot more than lightening ever could, and it was evident from the look on his face. Willow was surprised at the effect her words had on him, and felt guilty for a slight moment. However instead of apologizing, she shot him a cold glare before leaving the larder, bread and cheese in hand. Anders shook his head with a sigh before grabbing another slice of cheese. The Willow he knew must have died during the Blight, and a cold, spiteful woman seemed to have taken her place. He bit into the cheese he was holding as he thought of her cold comment. Who was _she_ to imply that he was selfish? His face darkened when he remembered the last time he had seen her. Perhaps she had a point. Perhaps the Blight didn't do this to her. Anders finished the cheese and got up to leave the larder. He was _not_ going to be thinking about that at a time like this. He was certain that the Commander wanted him to do something useful, and it was probably more important that stewing on the past.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"Are you alright?" Rhiannon finally asked her friend as she placed a book back on the shelf. Rhiannon had decided that it was best to keep Willow in her company until she could be certain that she would not attempt to harm Anders again.

"I'm better than yesterday," Willow said with a sigh. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, you only shot lightning at a new recruit yesterday. It isn't much of an issue, is it?" Rhiannon smirked. Willow rolled her eyes in response. "Seriously, Willow. What was your relationship with Anders? I was thinking about it last night and I came to the realization that I don't really know much about what happened to you before you became a Grey Warden. I'm _supposed_ to be your best friend. Shouldn't I know these things?"

Willow looked at her friend blankly for a moment. It was true, she had not told Rhiannon _anything_ about her life before becoming a Grey Warden. She exhaled loudly before looking Rhiannon right in the eye with a devilish grin on her face. "Anders is someone who I spent _a lot_ of alone time in the storage closets with." Rhiannon's eyes went wide as she attempted to suppress a giggle.

"Did you love him?" It was a stupid question, and she knew it. It was obvious by Willow's reaction to him yesterday that she did.

"Yes...Yes I did," Willow said, her tone and face softening. Rhiannon's smile faded as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder in order to comfort her. "But I should have known better," Willow said louder than she intended to. "He was never one to be tied down, or to be confined in one place too long." The look on Rhiannon's face was killing her. "I'll be fine...I was just so _shocked_." Willow gave her friend a fake, but warm grin. Rhiannon shook her head with a chuckle before standing up and grabbing the last of the books. There was more to this story, but Rhiannon didn't want to push her. Hopefully Willow would tell her the rest, and soon.

"Well, I think that this room is done," Rhiannon said turning to her friend, who nodded in response.

"Perhaps you should go and deal with the prisoner?" Varel said, surprising the two women. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No no, it's quite alright," Rhiannon said in her commander voice. "I probably should have done that before attempting to clean up this room. Thank you Seneschal, I shall attend to the matter immediately." Varel bowed slightly to Rhiannon before leaving the room. Willow got up off of the floor and stood beside Rhiannon.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" She asked her commander.

"No, I can handle this by myself. Besides, I think you should make some headway on _your_ study." Rhiannon's eyes were smiling at her.

Willow snorted. "That isn't fair. I helped you with _your_ study. Besides why do I even _need_ a study?"

"Because, you are the senior mage of the Wardens. It is now your responsibility to organize their training, and placement within the ranks among other things," Rhiannon stated simply. Willow sighed heavily in response. "You didn't think I was going to be the only one shouldering all of the responsibility here did you?" Rhiannon goaded.

"No, but that doesn't mean I couldn't hope that I got off easily."

Rhiannon laughed as she walked towards the door. She stopped when she got to the doorway and turned to her friend. "Easier than I did. I'm the equivalent to an Arlessa, and you only have to deal with one mage." Rhiannon shot her friend a smile before leaving towards the dungeons.

"So, Sparklefingers," the dwarf began.

"_Please_ don't call me that," Anders interrupted as he bit into his piece of bread.

"It seems you and our fellow mage have tapped the midnight still...and you didn't stick around afterwards," Oghren leered. Anders almost choked on his food at his forward comment, although he shouldn't have been surprised, he had only known the dwarf for almost a day, but it was clear that Oghren was...blunt, to put it lightly.

"Th-that _really_ isn't any of your business, now is it?" Anders spluttered. Oghren let out a bellowing laugh.

"Is there any _other_ reason she would shoot lightning at you?"

"Hey, this is the first time I've _ever_ had lightning shot at me," Anders retorted. "Well...for that reason anyway." Anders shot Oghren his infamous cat-like grin.

"So, you've done this to more than one woman? I don't believe you."

"Why do you think I became a healer? I was _constantly_ being hit, or scratched...or bitten even." It was a lie, of course, Anders had been healing almost as long as he could do magic, but Oghren didn't need to know that.

Willow, on the other hand, probably did.

Upon seeing who had walked through the door into the library, Anders' expression turned from bemused to embarrassed. He could feel the heat coming off of his face.

"You know I'm certain that the dining quarters would be far better suited to eat in," Willow said coldly, pretending not to hear what they were just talking about. Anders was rendered speechless, which was a rarity that Willow did not fail to pick up on.

"The ceiling is still kinda...leaky, so we made this room our dining hall," Oghren stated as matter-of-factually as a drunken dwarf could.

"Fair enough, I suppose," Willow said as she walked to the other end of the study and examined the bookshelf.

"What are _you_ doing in our dining hall, if you're not eating?" Oghren asked.

"Looking for an interesting tome I saw earlier. I was too busy to grab it at the time, but now that my study is cleaned, I would like to read it." Willow furrowed her brow while examining the books on the shelf, hoping it wouldn't take her too long to find the one she was looking for. Anders' presence was nagging at her like an unchecked wound.

"What tome are you looking for?" Anders asked as he got up out of his chair and walked over to her. Willow winced at how close he was.

"It's a book of spells for battle mages," she responded curtly with the hopes that he'd leave her alone. He didn't. Anders had hoped that the embarrassment induced heat would at least melt part of the icy glare she was giving him.

"Ah, this one?" He asked as warmly as possible as he pulled the tome off the shelf and handed it to her.

"Yes. Thank you," she responded with a glare so icy it made him feel like she had just cast a cold spell on him. Their hands touched his briefly when Willow reached for the book, and they both felt a jolt of something that wasn't lightning, which startled Willow, causing her to almost dropp the book. Despite the feeling her touch gave him, Anders' expression fell slightly at her cold response. He let go of the book before he nodded his head and turned towards the fire. A part of Willow wanted to grab a hold of Anders and make him smile again, but she concluded that that would probably just confuse him, and besides, it wasn't as if she _wanted_ to be with him again. She had managed managed just fine for the past four or so years. Willow turned towards the door and walked briskly to her study, hoping she could leave more than Anders behind in the library.

Conscripting Nathaniel was probably the worst idea that Rhiannon could have come up with. She still didn't even know why she had done it. Perhaps she wanted him to die during the joining? She exhaled loudly before rubbing her eyes. The day had been very long indeed. A knock at the door broke her from her thoughts.

"Come in," she said with a yawn. It was Willow carrying something that smelled divine.

"I come with tea from my own personal stores," Willow said with a smile.

"And to what do I owe the honour?" Rhiannon responded playfully.

"I heard about Nathaniel, and I thought you could use some tea and company." Willow placed the teapot and teacups on Rhiannon's desk and proceeded to pour the tea.

"Thank you," Rhiannon said softly as she grabbed her cup of tea. "It brought up a lot of...unpleasant memories." Willow nodded and prompted her to continue. "He said that my family threw in with the _Orlesians_, and that they deserved what they got." A suppressed sob wracked Rhiannon's body before she continued. "Even if the rumours were true, a seven year old was slaughtered that night. A _seven_ year old! What would _he_ have to do with Orlais?" Rhiannon slammed her fists down on the table with frustration.

"Nothing, and your family wasn't in league with the Orlesians. Nathaniel is just very confused, he'll probably come around once he realizes what kind of a monster his father was," Willow said softly. Rhiannon looked up at her with teary brown eyes and nodded.

"You're right." Rhiannon exhaled heavily before wiping her eyes and finishing her cup of tea. After she took a moment to compose herself, she changed the subject. "Now, we have some business to attend to."

"Yes Commander," Willow responded in a serious tone. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get more out of her friend this evening.

"I need you to go to Ameranthine tomorrow. I need to know what is going on in the city, but the nobility are coming tomorrow to pledge fealty and I fear that will take the better part of the day." Willow nodded. "And I would like you to take Anders," Rhiannon finished. Willow went pale and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "He has expressed to me that he would like to go to the city and look for new equipment because his was damaged, and since you're already going I thought there would be safety in numbers considering this darkspawn nonsense." Rhiannon had a point, even though Willow hated to admit it. "Besides, I feel that he'll be less likely to do something stupid if you're there."

Willow snorted. _She _obviously_ doesn't know Anders_, she thought to herself. "As much as I hate to admit it, you make sense."

"But for now, we need to clear out the basements. I've been informed that there are darkspawn trapped down there, and we should probably clear them out." Willow nodded before finishing her tea. She wasn't sure what she feared more, the darkspawn in the basements, or an entire day with Anders.


	3. Chapter 3

"You certainly don't need to be able to _sense_ the darkspawn to know that they are down here," Anders remarked as he plugged his nose.

"I don't think that you'll ever get used to the smell," Rhiannon chuckled as she led her team down into the basements.

"I bet you that cave-in blocked the smell from wafting into the keep," Willow said as Rhiannon opened the first door. The first room was filled with dead darkspawn and soldiers. Anders made a noise of disgust as they walked through the room. "Better get used to it Anders. This is what the next thirty years of your life will be like," Willow stated dryly. Anders opened his mouth to respond before Rhiannon cut him off.

"This mabari must have killed most of the darkspawn," Rhiannon said as she knelt down to comfort the dog. "Shh, it's okay," she said softly as she pet the dog. A pained expression passed over Rhiannon's face as she thought of her own mabari. She left him in Highever to keep her brother some sort of company, but she missed him terribly. Willow knelt down beside Rhiannon and began to examine the dog.

"She'll be fine, I don't sense any taint in her," Willow said to Rhiannon. Rhiannon nodded before looking closer to the dog's collar.

"Hey, there's a note here. Apparently, a woman named Adria is in the lower reaches of the keep," Rhiannon said before standing.

"Adria? She was like a mother to me, we must save her!" Nathaniel exclaimed. Rhiannon nodded in his direction, still unable to look at him directly.

"We should keep moving," Rhiannon said in her commander tone. "The darkspawn aren't going to kill themselves. Anders, I would like you to stay in the background with Nathaniel please."

"Yes Commander, but if you're worried about me I -"

"Willow, Oghren and I have fought together for the last year, and as a result we can work together wordlessly, until I can determine what your skills are, exactly, I'd like you to stay back," Rhiannon interrupted.

"Understood," Anders responded sheepishly. Rhiannon shot him a smile before leading her team into the next room.

"Besides Anders, you wouldn't want to get your nice clean robe _dirty_, would you?" Willow teased. Anders shot her a dangerous look.

Willow and Rhiannon had fallen into their old routine as they battled the darkspawn. Willow cast a crushing prison on the emissary before using her staff as a mace as well as a tool to focus her spells, while Rhiannon moved quickly and deadly as she cut down the darkspawn with her blades. Anders and Nathaniel managed save Willow, Oghren and Rhiannon from grievous injury before the mele fighters even knew they needed to defend. The hurlock alpha was the last to be taken down. With a cry Rhiannon swung her blades and decapitated it. Blood spurted out it's neck from where it's head used to be, covering both Rhiannon and Willow.

"_Seriously_ Rhiannon," Willow began, "that was _hardly_ necessary. I think a good stab at the heart would have sufficed." She wiped the blood off of her face as she glowered at her friend.

"Oh come on now Willow, a little darkspawn blood never hurt anyone," Rhiannon joked.

Nobody laughed.

Rhiannon frowned.

"What did you say about _me_ and _my_ robes?" Anders dared with a wry smile. Willow shot him an icy glare that was felt throughout the whole room, but he kept smiling.

"Perhaps we should try to salvage some things down here?" Nathaniel interrupted.

"Good idea," Rhiannon replied as she grabbed her friend's hand before leading her into an adjacent room. Unfortunately, this room was inhabited by shrieks.

They were caught off guard.

Willow and Rhiannon were both overtaken before they were able to grab their weapons. Rhiannon scolded herself for being so careless as she tried to wrestle the shriek off of her. She imagined that Willow was doing the same. Suddenly the shrieks fell unconscious, and it took Rhiannon a moment to realize that Anders must have cast a mind-blast spell. Nathaniel had taken down two of them with some strategically placed arrows before Rhiannon was able to stand up and finish off the other two before they managed to gain consciousness. Willow rolled the shriek's corpse off of her before sitting up and pulling her knees close to her. There was a look of fear in her eyes that reminded Anders of the day the Templars took her, and for the first time since he'd been in Vigil's Keep, she looked like the old Willow that he knew...except covered in darkspawn blood. Their eyes locked for a moment and he felt his throat tighten as he moved to touch her, or embrace her. He didn't know which of them he was going to do. However, Rhiannon managed to get to her first and pull Willow to her feet.

"You okay?" Rhiannon asked as she looked into her friend's eyes. Willow shook her head in an attempt to clear it before giving Rhiannon a weak smile.

"I'm fine, just the effect of the Shriek's...shriek," she responded with a fake laugh. Rhiannon shot her a concerned look before moving on.

"There's a hidden room in here," Nathaniel said in an attempt to break the tension. "But there's a trick to opening it. He walked up to the statue of Andraste and ran his hands over it looking for a switch. There was an audible click, followed by a satisfied sound that came from Nathaniel. Oghren raised an eyebrow and scoffed. Nathaniel walked up to the torch right beside it and pulled on it, revealing a hidden room with a chest. Rhiannon moved to the chest and deftly picked the lock, without saying a word to Nathaniel. There wasn't much in the chest to warrant it's own secret room. They did a final sweep of that area. Willow found some alcohol (it went straight to Oghren, much to his delight) and part of the correspondence between Rendon Howe and his captain, she assumed. Willow pursed her lips before stashing it in her pack. It was probably best to show this to Rhiannon later... much later. Rhiannon found some of Delilah Howe's letters, which she promptly gave to Nathaniel, who accepted them courteously. Rhiannon wondered how Howe had managed to raise someone to be so courteous.

The ghouls in the next room were much easier to take down. The ghouls didn't have any armour or weapons, and it was over almost as soon as it had begun. Willow had gained more of her sense and confidence and her icy battle hardened demeanour had returned.

"Help us please!" A prisoner yelled from the cells. "Let us out of here!" Rhiannon's face contorted in concern as she walked towards the cells.

"We've killed the darkspawn between here and the entrance. However, I suggest you move _very_ quickly," Rhiannon said to them as she picked the lock on the cell and let them out.

"Thank The Maker for you!" one of the inmates said to her before they ran towards the entrance.

"The basement has only one more level. Adria must be down there. We must save her," Nathaniel pleaded as they descended down the stairs.

"Adria! No... We must help her!" Nathaniel cried out.

"She's a ghoul now, Nathaniel," Willow stated simply. "No amount of healing magic will help her." Nathaniel's cry alerted the ghouls to their presence, and they fell into their uniform dance of death. The ghouls were dispatched relatively easily, but what could possibly lay beyond the cave-in left the party with an ominous feeling.

"Well Rhia," Willow said breaking the silence, "you managed to kill something without spraying its blood _all over me_. I'm impressed." Rhiannon stuck her tongue out at her friend, and then realized how unprofessional she must have looked. Voldrik told them how the cave in leads to the deep roads, and that a lot of the basement entries probably lead down there as well. Rhiannon sighed heavily before Voldrik told her that if they found a common entry point that they could block it off.

"Thank you, Voldrik. I trust that the men will have this cleared up as quickly as possible?" Rhiannon asked.

"Of course lass," he responded.

"Good. I'd like to be informed as soon as the rubble is cleared, but for now let's go back to the keep." The rest of the company nodded before following Rhiannon back to the keep.

Anders couldn't sleep. The nightmares started as soon as he felt the familiar lightness that meant sleep was coming. He was walking towards the library. He figured that if he was going to be awake that he should do something useful with his time. Anders reflected on Willow's reaction to the shrieks and contemplated how different she was from who she used to be. He frowned as he walked into the library, but the frown was soon replaced by a bemused grin. He saw Willow curled up in a large armchair by the fire with her nose firmly hidden by a book. _She must be here because of the nightmares too,_ he thought to himself, _then again, she was plagued by nightmares even before she became a Grey Warden._ Anders walked closer to her, noticing that she was in a simple nightgown. He also noticed how red her skin was, from what he assumed was from her scrubbing the darkspawn blood off of her, and then some. Anders smirked as he remembered how she reacted the first time the blood of something other than her splashed on her face. She had vomited and nearly passed out. She had never liked blood or violence, he remembered. She had preferred to plant flowers, laugh, and tell stories. Anders was so lost in memory that he didn't hear Willow clear her throat.

"Anders," she said curtly for the third time, finally bringing him out of his revery.

Anders shot her a mischievous grin before speaking. "Do you remember what happened the _last_ time we were in the library together late at night?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Anders, I'm too tired to contend with your _stupid_ remarks."

"And to answer my questions, it seems," he said with his eyes twinkling.

Willow returned to her book.

"So nightmares," he said getting more serious, "darkspawn or..." He didn't need to finish the sentence, he could tell from the way that her face softened that her nightmares weren't darkspawn related. "Does Rhiannon know?" Anders asked squatting down so he could face her. Willow didn't look at him, but shook her head. "Does she know _anything_? I mean, you travelled with her for a whole year, shouldn't she know something?"

"The only thing that she knows is that you and I used to spend a lot of time together doing things of a questionable nature. She just assumed that all of my nightmares were darkspawn related," Willow said softly. Anders moved to the front of the chair and put his hand on her chin, and tilted her face just so he could see into her eyes.

"You need tell her, Willow. It doesn't take a mind reader to see that this has been eating at you," Anders stated. Willow's eyes resumed their cold stare.

"I'm _fine_ Anders." Willow swatted his hand away from her face before getting up out of the chair, causing Anders to fall backwards. "I suggest you at least try to sleep before we head to Ameranthing tomorrow... I know how you get when you've had little sleep." Anders remained on the floor, looking into fire until he knew Willow was out of the room. He swore before getting up out of the chair. If Willow wasn't going to tell the commander about her past, then he would.


	4. Chapter 4

Willow slept fitfully that night. Between the darkspawn nightmares and her other nightmares, she was amazed that she even managed the few hours she got. Anders' words haunted her almost as badly as her nightmares did. He was right, of course, she should tell Rhiannon, she should have already told her. Perhaps confiding in someone would help her? Although, she had confided in Anders and the nightmares never stopped. Willow's mouth formed a thin line as she thought about that. Perhaps she should just tell Rhiannon out of principle, they were best friends. Willow sighed heavily as she rolled over and attempted to get to sleep.

"I'm not getting anymore sleep," she murmured to herself after a while. She got out of bed and put on one of her robes before leaving her room in search of food. She soon found her way to the library with her cheese and bread in hand. She didn't know why she was headed there. However once she got there she stopped dead in her tracks. Anders had fallen asleep on the armchair, and from the book that had fallen onto the floor, Willow guessed that he hadn't intended to sleep there. Willow smirked slightly thinking that maybe she should cast a very minor cold spell on him to wake him up, or something equally devious. She shook her head at herself. That was something the Willow at the Tower would do to him when he fell asleep in the library. He had fallen asleep because he would have been up almost all night talking to her because she wouldn't go back to sleep and endure the nightmares anymore. She grimaced as she thought about it. She tried to shake the memory from her mind before she walked up to the armchair beside Anders and sat down in it. She tried to concentrate on eating her food rather than Anders' slight snores. Willow was soon interrupted by Anders beginning to stir. Willow almost choked on the last of her food when he let out a groan as he stretched. She swallowed her food down and shook her head before turning her head in his direction and resting it on the armchair. He opened his eyes and shot Willow a lazy grin. Her heart jumped into her throat.

"Well, I certainly never thought I'd ever wake up to see _your_ lovely face next to mine again," he said sleepily before emitting a throaty chuckle. Willow blushed, despite herself. She was furious with herself for allowing him to do this to her.

"I could certainly arrange that," she jested. She cursed herself inwardly, she had meant to sound serious but it came out like a joke. It was too easy to fall into her old ways with Anders, and she knew he knew it.

Normally Anders would take delight in making women fight the inward battle between flirting with him or killing him. It usually ended up in a lot more than flirting. Not Willow, though. He hated seeing her like this. After she ended up in the Tower, he had vowed to himself that she would never feel anything that wasn't happiness. In retrospect, it was a silly and childish thing to think, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try to make her happy. He frowned at himself. He had meant what he said before, he didn't think he would ever see her face again. Anders saw the look on her face and felt a little heartbroken. He just wanted to kiss that sad look off of her face, but she'd probably light him on fire or something if he tried now. He tried to catch her gaze with his warm hazel eyes, but she was skillfully avoiding direct eye contact. He was growing impatient and reached out to tilt her face towards him.

"Willow...Please look at me," He pleaded softly. She would not comply. "For Andraste's sake, _please_ look at me Willow." She couldn't stand the hurt in his voice, so she complied. "What did I do? How can I make it better?" For a moment he thought he saw tears welling up in her eyes before she clamped them shut and wrenched her face out of his hands.

"You. Left. Me," she spat out bitterly before standing up and walking towards the door. "Now hurry up and get ready. We have to leave for Amaranthine." Anders winced at her words and sat in the armchair for a moment. She didn't know why he left and escaped from the Tower. _How could she know?_ He asked himself. _It's not like I ever got the opportunity to explain things to her, and I highly doubt the Templars would._ He sighed before getting out of his armchair. This was going to be one long day indeed.

The walk to Amaranthine was quiet and a chill filled the air even with the sun's rays. Anders was growing somewhat impatient with Willow's attitude. She was far too stubborn for her own good, in his opinion.

"I thought that Redheads were supposed to be fiery, not cold as ice," Anders drawled.

"Would you prefer me to set you on fire then, Anders," she responded darkly. Anders gulped loudly before finally shutting up. At this point, he didn't have any doubts about her setting him on fire if he pushed her enough.

Amaranthine was flooded with refugees. Fortunately they were all of good health, for now. Anders dared to look at Willow's face while they were walking to the gates. Her icy glare had melted into genuine concern for these people. _Perhaps she isn't as far gone as I had originally thought_, he mused. Willow introduced herself to two men and asked if one of them was Colbert.

"Why, hello honey pie. I'm always available for riveting conversations with such fine women as yourself," the man who must have been Colbert leered. Anders stood up straighter and moved closer to Willow while giving Colbert the most intimidating glance he could muster.

"I'll rivet you to the floor if you speak to me like that again, Colbert," Willow responded coolly with a smile.

"Mmm, I do like 'em feisty," Colbert continued, but the expression on his face changed to a serious one as soon as he saw the proximity of the two mages and the very unimpressed look on Willow's face. The man relayed to them how he and Micah had ended up coming across the darkspawn pit, and gave her a map where he marked the location of it. She thanked them before turning towards the front gates. _What was _that_? It isn't as if she's mine,_ Anders thought to himself. He had never been a jealous person, but the sight of someone with Willow just got on his nerves. The guard at the gate snapped him out of his thoughts. He was asking Willow if he could search her bags for smuggled goods. She had shot him a confused look before agreeing, claiming that they had nothing to hide.

"What are you doing?" The constable asked his guard.

"I'm searching their packs like you asked me to," he replied, confused that his constable was asking him such a question.

The constable exhaled heavily. "This is the Warden Commander's right hand, and one of the Wardens who took down the arch demon." Willow gave the embarrassed guard a faint smile, who immediately stopped searching her packs and stood at attention. "Why don't you go rest for awhile," the constable said to the guard, who quickly dismissed himself. "Excuse him, m'lady. My name is Constable Aiden and I may be in need of your assistance."

"What can I do for you ser?" She asked politely. Constable Aiden explained to her the situation with the smugglers and asked her if she would help him out.

"I'll try to find out whatever information I can here, and speak to the Warden Commander immediately. We shall have this issue dealt with as soon as possible, you have my word," she said as diplomatically as she possibly could. It seemed to suffice. Constable Aiden thanked her and sent her and Anders on their way.

"That was amazing," Anders said in wonder.

"Well, helping end a blight and being the Warden Commander's right hand seems to slightly overshadow the fact that I'm a mage sometimes," Willow responded, picking up on what he had meant. "However, I feel that the love won't last. I imagine that when Ferelden is at peace and the blight somewhat forgotten, that I'll be thought of as a dangerous mage who will shoot lightning at anyone I please."

"I'm surprised it's last this long," he spat. Willow sighed before giving him a knowing smile. For a moment he felt like they were back in the tower, despite the fresh air and sounds of the market.

"So, I need to speak to Mervis, he's one of the merchants, about some destroyed caravans... since I _know_ you aren't here to buy gear, perhaps you should do whatever it is that you need to be doing," she said to him as she cocked an eyebrow. Anders felt heat rush to his face. _Had I really been that obvious?_ He thought to himself.

"Well, I uhm...I _do_ need supplies as well," he said to her with a lazy grin. Willow rolled her eyes at him.

"Did Rhia give you any gold?" She asked him as if she were asking a child.

"Yes she did, so I'm going to go over there and put it to good use!" He said to her indignantly before turning towards the grocer. She chuckled to herself before she went to meet Mervis.

"How did the meeting go?" Anders asked as he sneaked up behind Willow. She almost jumped out of her skin. "I bought us some apples as well," he continued.

"It went fine. Apparently the caravans are being attacked by..._something_... And you _know_ that apples make me hungrier," she said to him cocking her eyebrow while taking the apple from him.

"Weird, is it darkspawn? And I know that they make you hungrier, which is why I also got you _this_," he said as he pulled some meat pie out of what seemed like nowhere.

"Nobody knows what it is... And do I _want_ to know where you were keeping that?" She asked.

"Oh, you're welcome to look for the spot. I'll give you a hint: it'll be abnormally warm," he said as he waggled his eyebrows.

"Dear Maker Anders, you are insufferable. Honestly, if I find a Templar, I might just hand you over to them," She said half jokingly. Anders laughed lightly in response before they sat down and ate in silence. Anders attempted to get eat the last piece of the pie, but Willow grabbed it faster than he could, knowing he wanted the last piece, and chewed it slowly making sounds of delight. Anders pouted at her, but it had no effect on her. She laughed at him before brushing her hands off and standing up. Anders followed her, but when she went to ascend the stairs to the chantry he stopped.

"I...don't want to go up there," he stated simply. Willow turned to face him. She should have known he didn't want to go, and she wasn't about to make him. She had been feeling that maybe she had been too hard on Anders lately, even if he did hurt her. It had almost been three years, and surely both of them were different people. Besides, they needed to be able to work together now.

"Well, I'm not going _in_ the Chantry. I'm only checking the Chanters board... but I'm not about to make you come if you don't want to." Anders breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good! I fear there will be Templars there, and I'm afraid you might actually live up to your previous threat," he said in an attempt to bring levity to the situation. Willow smiled warmly at him before walking up to the Chantry.

The Chanters board was filled with the same types of jobs as they usually are, except for one. One of them was to find three apostates and dispose of them. She cringed at its presence. There was no way that she was taking that job, but the others were fine to take it seemed. She did pull the apostate hunting one off of the board and throw it onto the ground with the hopes that nobody would see it. She donated some injury kits before turning to meet back up with Anders when she saw Wynne. Her heart skipped a beat. It seemed like it had been a very long time since she had seen her old friend. She ran up to her greeted her with a hearty hello.

"Hello to you too Willow," Wynne responded in a way only Wynne could. Willow beamed at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Wynne told Willow about the Liberatians' agenda and how the college of Magi were meeting in Cumberland and how Ines was needed.

"Ines?" Willow asked remembering her former tutor. "How is she?"

"Just the same. She is in the Wending Wood doing her gardening. Oops, I'm sorry, I mean studying _botany_." Willow chuckled at the tone of Wynne's voice. "Would you mind looking for her for me? I'm afraid I don't have time to look for her," Wynne asked.

"Of course! It would be good to see her again. We need to head over to the Wending Wood anyway," Willow responded. She thought for a moment that she would mention Anders, but decided against it. Wynne had her opinions of him, and he did not fair to well in her books.

"Very well, I shall see you soon, hopefully," Wynne said before leaving. Willow nodded in her direction.

Willow met back up with Anders at the bottom of the stairs and they walked together at a safe distance from each other in silence until an elven woman tried getting Anders' attention.

"Oi, Anders," She whispered loudly to him. He turned around and looked surprised to see her.

"Oh, Namaya, you're still here?" He asked.

"Of course I am. I _keep_ my promises. Anyway, it turns out you were right. The cache is here." Her voice was husky, and from the exchange between them Willow thought that maybe they knew each other better than Anders was letting on and she felt jealousy creep under her skin.

"It is?" He asked surprised.

"Yes, whatever you chose to do with that information is up to you. I, for one, am done dealing with mages," she said to him curtly.

"Ah...Thank you," he said to her.

"A word of advice," she said turning to Willow, "don't let him sweet-talk you. He is _very_ good at it."

"I'm _miles_ ahead of you on that one," Willow grumbled. Namaya left, prompting Anders to turn to Willow.

"I'm sure you want an explanation after that," he said sheepishly.

"No! Not at _all._ You don't have to explain yourself to me." The sarcasm was dripping in her voice.

Anders smiled, "I am fluent in sarcasm, you can't fool me!" Willow raised her eyebrow at him. Anders explained to her how he had looked to Namaya to find the cache of phylacteries that may or may not have been moved to Amaranthine. She found out that his was among them, and they were indeed in Amaranthine. "So...can we go destroy it?" He asked her. Willow paused for a moment.

"Do you think mine is there as well?" She asked. Anders blushed.

"Uh...yeah, I believe it is," he said looking to the ground.

"Well, I suppose, but I think we should go back to the Keep first and maybe enlist some aid from our fellow Wardens? It is probably guarded and I don't feel that you and I could take them alone," she suggested.

"I don't think we have _time_ for that. The blight is over, and Denerim is probably safe enough for them to be moved back by now. If we're going to do it we need to go now! Besides, you helped defeat an _arch demon_, what are a few guards?" His determination made Willow feel uneasy, but she nodded her head nonetheless.

"Fine Anders, we'll go, but if something bad happens to either of us Rhiannon will have our heads," she said to him seriously. She did not want them to go by themselves, but there was obviously no way she could change his mind.

They found the abandoned warehouse where Anders assumed they were keeping the phylacteries. They went in, only to find no one there.

"No guards? Could we be that lucky?" He asked.

"No. I don't like this Anders, we should leave," she said to him, but he was determined. They would not. They walked to the back of the room where they were greeted by three Templars.

"Well, well, well," Rylock said, obviously pleased with herself, "and here I thought the infamous Anders wouldn't take the bait."

"I'm flattered that you think of me so," Anders said sarcastically. Willow shot Anders a look that told him she was not pleased _at all_ with him.

"So, the phylacteries weren't here? This was just a trap?" Willow asked. She hated Rylock for more reasons than any mage could possibly hate her for. She was cold, cruel, and Maker help you if she caught you doing anything out of line. But she had done more to Willow than she even realized.

"Oh no, the phylacteries were here. Now if you will please hand over Anders, so we can be on our way."  
"No! I would die before _you_ took him," Willow snarled. Anders was touched for a moment, but upon reflecting on the emphasis on the you, Anders realized that this was probably more about Rylock than him.

"I don't know how you inspire such loyalty Anders," Rylock said to him before turning to Willow. "Anders will never submit, not even to_ you_." Willow looked at Anders, and there was fear in her eyes. He gave her his best I'm sorry look before turning back to Rylock.

"Now, about you dying before we took him," she said unsheathing her sword grabbing her shield. "That can be arranged." Willow and Anders grabbed there staffs.

_This was a trap set for me_, Anders thought to himself, _and now I have Willow caught up in it. I am such a fool._ Their chance of survival was small, and they both knew it, but they weren't going to go down without a fight.


	5. Chapter 5

The two helmeted templars were dead within seconds. Anders' mind blast spell knocked all three of the templars unconscious before Willow managed to freeze them solid and shatter them. Rylock wasn't dispatched as easily. She quickly cleansed the area before casting a holy smite down on Anders' head. The force of it not only knocked him unconscious, but it managed to knock Willow off her feet. Willow was disoriented, and it allowed Rylock to drain her remaining mana.

"Well now, it seems that we have a mage without the ability to use her magic. How will she defend herself?" Rylock's smile was warped as she looked down at Willow, who had regained most of her wits by now. "I can leave you alone, you know, and just take him."

Willow smiled wickedly at Rylock before speaking. "No, that is _not_ an option. Do you honestly think that I managed to get by this far with _only_ magic." Rylock raised a suspicious eyebrow in response. Willow grabbed one of the other templar's swords before standing up. "You tend to...pick up a few things when fighting a blight," Willow said casually before attacking Rylock.

She defended herself.

They circled each other before attacking. Willow was by no means a master swordsman, but she was proving to Rylock that she could hold her own. Rylock found an opening and ran her sword through Willow's right shoulder. Willow cried out before swearing and dropping her sword._ No rock armour anymore Willow, you need to be more careful_ she thought to herself, but Rylock was already on her. She knocked Willow backwards with her shield before standing over her with her sword raised.

"This was interesting, but enough is enough." Willow had already lost a lot of blood and was beginning to feel very light headed, but her adrenaline was kicking in. There was no reason for her to die this way after all she had been through. Rylock had thought she has won the battle and had let her guard down as she swung her sword, but Willow had managed to dodge it and kick Rylock's feet out from under her. Willow managed to grab her sword with her left arm before jumping on Rylock to keep her on the ground. Willow pierced her arm with the sword and buried it into the floor so that Rylock would stay put.

"Where are they?" Willow yelled at Rylock. She was not going to let this opportunity pass her by.

"Dead, that's where they are," Rylock said through gritted teeth.

"Don't you dare lie to me," Willow growled as she twisted the sword in Rylock's arm. She cried out in response before collecting herself.

"Why should I tell you?" Willow twisted the sword more deliberately. She was hoping this would be over quickly, she had already lost too much blood. Rylock tried to suppress her cry, but it did not work.

"All that I can say is that phylacteries are not the only reason why Amaranthine should interest you," Rylock spat at Willow. "Not like it matters though, they'll _know_ you did this." Willow grinned wickedly at Rylock before pulling the sword out of her shoulder.

"Oh really? There isn't any evidence of your fellow templars, and you conveniently cleansed the area and drained my mana. I haven't been able to cast a spell since then. For all the Chantry will know, you were killed by either bandits or smugglers or something of that nature." She raised the sword and plunged it into Rylock's neck, effectively silencing her forever.

Willow's adrenaline levels dropped almost as quickly as they had spiked and she felt woozy. She had lost far too much blood. She had to get her and Anders out of there. She heard a groan coming from his direction. She tried to keep herself conscious as she looked for poultices in her pack she had to stop most of the bleeding.

"Holy Maker, Willow, your arm!" She heard Anders say as he ran over to her. He was about to begin healing her before she stopped him.

"No! Not here, they'll know it was us if you use your magic. Hide two the shields of the other templars, and the remaining sword. We can't have any evidence of the other two," she said while applying the poultice to the wound. Anders nodded before removing the weapons and stashing them in a crate in the adjacent room. He came back to find that Willow had collapsed on the floor and that her arm was still slowly bleeding. He grabbed some bandages from his pack and tied it around her wound before carrying her to the Crown and Lion.

Willow woke with a start. She was delirious and scared. She started thrashing about and yelling. She had no idea where she was until she heard a familiar voice try and calm her down.

"Willow, it's okay, you're in the Crown and Lion. You're safe now," Anders said to her as he put a hand on her wounded shoulder to continue healing it. Willow snapped into full consciousness and felt anger fill her body.

"No Anders it's _not_ okay!" She snapped at him before wrenching her shoulder out of his hands. She only just noticed she was naked. "Do not touch me."

"Honestly Willow, if I haven't seen it before I'll throw a sovereign at it," Anders said before reaching for her shoulder. He was growing very tired of this charade, if she was going to hate him then she should just hate him and not play around with him. Willow swatted his hand away before continuing. "This is all _your_ fault!" She practically screamed. Anders' eyes narrowed. "It's _your_ fault I was locked up in that stupid tower, it's_ your_ fault that I was alienated from the rest in said tower, it's _your_ fault that I became a Grey Warden, and this -" she yelled while pointing to her shoulder.

"Enough, Delany!" Anders snarled as he held her still, effectively cutting her off. He finally snapped. He had already taken too much lyrium, and he must have hit his head when Rylock hit him with that holy smite because his head hurt very badly, which was not helping. Dealing with a severely injured delirious woman who hated having him near her also was not helping. Willow flinched at the use of her real name. Nobody had called her that since her mother died, and he knew it. She dropped her head in defeat before letting him know he could continue. The scared look on her face melted his annoyance away, and it was replaced by remorse. "Willow," he said softly as he tilted her face towards him. "I know, so let me fix it please." Her face was soft and familiar feeling and it took everything in him to not pull her close to him and plant a soft kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes and nodded before he moved his hands back to her shoulder. She didn't trust herself to look directly at him, so she laid back and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before the blue light surrounding Anders' hands spluttered and died out, which caused him to sigh heavily. Willow opened her eyes to see Anders reaching into his bag for what she assumed was another lyrium potion.

"No," she said firmly as she reached out with her good arm to put her hand on his hands. "You've already had too much. Some poultices and bandages will work for the rest." Anders nodded his head before he began bandaging her wound. "You should probably get some rest as well. Too much lyrium and no rest is _not_ good for you." Anders looked her in the eye before agreeing. He looked around the room and spotted a chair that he could rest in. He got up to move before Willow grabbed his arm. "That chair will offer no comfort," she said before giving him a half grin.

"Are you implying what I think your implying?" He drawled.

"Well, like you said before, it isn't as if haven't seen me naked before, and if you remember we have been able to share a bed without doing anything naughty." Willow moved over so that he could have room.

"True, but you were fifteen and fully clothed," he joked before laying down on the bed. "Although I am far too tired to even think of doing anything naughty with you." Willow laughed lightly before closing her eyes. She was still exhausted and sleep sounded like a very good idea.

Willow woke up what could not have been more than an hour or so later because the poultice was still causing her arm to tingle. She rolled her head to her right to see Anders sleeping with one arm over his chest and the other one lazily placed above his head. His face was flushed and he was snoring lightly. He had decided to sleep above the covers for the sake of propriety, it seemed. The sight made Willow's heart flutter, until she noticed dried blood in Anders' hair. She frowned as she moved closer to inspect the wound. _He must have been too occupied with my arm to deal with this,_ she thought to herself. Anders was sporting a very large goose egg with a shallow cut. She sat up slowly so that she could heal the wound easier with her left arm because her right one was useless. She healed the cut quickly, but the swelling was almost refusing to go down. She grimaced before using more magic in an attempt to quell the swelling.

It worked.

Willow sighed in relief as she continued to heal Anders. Once the swelling had gone down she began to remove her hand, but Anders caught it and brought it to his lips before kissing her fingers. _It must be the lyrium_, Willow thought to herself as she inhaled sharply.

"Were...were you awake this entire time?" she asked breathlessly as he continued to plant kisses on her hand. He chuckled before looking lazily up at her. He was definitely having a lyrium hang over.

"Maybe," he drawled. Willow gave him a _look_, which caused him to roll his eyes before he sat up to be at a more even level. Willow immediately held the sheet to her body as she continued giving him the _look_. "You know," Anders began as he reached out to cup her cheek, "you have such a pretty face, don't ruin it with that scowl." Willow blushed from embarrassment before trying to turn away, but Anders stopped her. "I've missed you a lot, you know," he said quietly before leaning and kissing her.

_This is only the lyrium, this is only the lyrium,_Willow kept saying to herself, even when she returned the kiss and allowed the sheet to fall into her lap as she tangled her left hand in his hair. She couldn't help herself. The feel of his hair as she tangled her hands in it, the feel of his lips blazing a hot trail of kisses down her neck, the feel of his hands through the sheet, and the familiarity of his smell was too much for her to resist. Everything just felt so _right_. Anders' mouth moved back to claim hers as he leaned her back. She complied as she began to undo the buttons on his robe. He chuckled into her mouth before the door burst open causing him to fall off of the bed in surprise. Willow gasped as she grabbed the blankets in an attempt to cover herself up.

Rhiannon would have been amused at the scene before her had she not raced down to Amaranthine under these unique circumstances. She had sent Willow with Anders to keep him _out_ of trouble, not to aid him in causing it. "What in the Maker's name is going on here?" Rhiannon yelled as she slammed the door shut. Willow's face turned the same shade of red as her hair while Anders peeked his head up over the other side of the bed.

Neither of them said anything.

"You have _a lot_ of explaining to do, Willow," Rhiannon said.

"Can I put on some clothes first?" She asked. Rhiannon sighed heavily before passing her clean clothes that she had brought from the keep. She struggled to get them on without hurting her arm more, but managed. She turned to face Rhiannon before speaking. "Where would you like me to start?"

"How about why you killed three templars? I'm certain that you could have used a sleep spell or something of that nature and run away." Anders snorted in response, which caused Rhiannon to glare at him.

"Forgetting the fact that Rylock would _never_ leave us alone after that, she was a very sick woman who deserved what she got, and we couldn't kill Rylock without having to kill the other two templars," she stated simply.

"Why is it I get the feeling that there is _a lot_ you aren't telling me?" Rhiannon sighed as she sat down in the chair closest to the bed. Anders remained hidden.

"Because there is. I suppose I should start by saying that my _real_ name is Delany. However, only my mother called me that when I was in trouble. My father started calling me Willow when I was young and it just kind of stuck. So, I would appreciate it if you would continue to call me Willow." Rhiannon nodded in response before resting her head on her hand. "The second thing I should probably tell you is that I didn't end up going to the tower until I was fifteen, but I had showed signs of magic when I was five." Upon seeing the look of confusion on Rhiannon's face Willow chuckled lightly before continuing. "Both of my parents were apostates and were very good at eluding the templars. My father was from a noble from Kirkwall and managed to elude the templars long enough to make it to Ferelden, while my mother was a Dalish healer." Rhiannon opened her mouth to respond but Willow continued. "That is a story that I will tell you later, for I feel I only have the energy to tell you this one. Anyway, long story short, my mother was banished from her clan for taking a human mate and bearing his child, so they moved to the forests around Redcliffe. I don't know why they'd move so close to the tower, but I never had the chance to ask."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Rhiannon interrupted.

"Because we were fighting a blight, and I didn't feel it was important." Rhiannon furrowed her brow and was about to try to say something, but Willow continued. "Anyway, once I showed signs of magic, my parents showed me how to hide it as well as use it."

"I don't understand what this has to do with Rylock," Rhiannon stated loudly.

"I'm getting to that part," Willow said as she cocked her eyebrow at Rhiannon, who snorted in response. "Anyway, when I was twelve years old I was out gathering food with my father when we were attacked by bandits. They must have gotten lost in the woods or something of that nature, but they surprised us. My father made me hide in a bush before he was taken down. The bandits didn't find anything of use on him, and they left him for dead."

"Still not seeing what this has to do with Rylock."

"Shut up Rhiannon, do you want to hear the story or not?" Willow snapped. Rhiannon went red in the face slightly before shutting her mouth. "Anyway, I ran to him from the bush and in my desperation to heal him I let out a massive wave of healing magic, that I'm _certain_ would have been felt for miles away. My father, being afraid for my safety cast an even more powerful spell to cover up my magic so that the templars wouldn't take me away if they found us. Unfortunately, three templars must have been looking for an apostate in the woods because they came running in our direction. My father told me to run home, so I started running towards the house." Rhiannon knew where this was going, and she dropped her head. "I hid in the bushes and I saw the templars drain away all of his mana before killing him. I don't suppose I have to tell you who one of the templars _was_, now do I?" Willow asked. Rhiannon shook her head before reaching out and squeezing Willow's hand. Anders had decided that he was safe and moved to the bed.

"I'm sorry, I should have known that you wouldn't have done something like that unless you had your reasons. I've just been very unnerved by some news I heard today."

"What news?" Willow asked with concern.

"Apparently some of the nobles are still loyal to Howe and are planning to assassinate me. I have arranged to find a man named the Dark Wolf, though, to see if he can find out who they are so I can deal with them." Willow chuckled before leaning back in the bed.

"Kill _you_? You helped defeat an arch demon! Like some stupid nobles will be hard to deal with." Rhiannon grinned at her friend's seemingly cheerful demeanour. "Since you're here, you should speak to Constable Aiden. Apparently, he's having trouble with smugglers. Also, I spoke to Mervis and it seems we need to travel to the Wending Wood to be able to determine what is going on there and hopefully destroy the threat," Willow said with a yawn.

"I shall do that. I was also told that Kristoff was staying here while doing his research so I think I'm going to check out his room before I leave. The two of you should get some _rest_," Rhiannon cocked an eyebrow at the two of them, which caused them both to blush. "I brought Nathaniel and Oghren with me in case we run into any trouble. I'll come back when everything is dealt with." Willow nodded sleepily before pulling the covers up to her chin and closing her eyes. Anders moved to the other side of the bed and laid down as far away from Willow as possible in an attempt to show Rhiannon that he intended to actually sleep. Rhiannon chuckled at the two of them before leaving the room.

"You didn't tell her about the nightmares," Anders said softly before rolling over to face her, but she was facing the wall.

"I will if they persist, although I imagine they won't now that Rylock is dead," she responded softly before curling up into a ball. Anders sighed before he moved closer to her.

"I meant what I said before," he said before reaching out to stroke her hair. Willow rolled onto her back and turned her head to face him. He was resting his head on his hand, and his hair was a mess but the look in his eyes and his charming grin seemed genuine.

"I think that we should get some rest," she responded softly before turning back to the wall and closing her eyes. Anders chuckled lightly before flopping his head back onto the pillow.

"Always the practical one, aren't we?" He asked, but Willow had already fallen asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Willow awoke to an empty bed. She was groggy, far too groggy to have just awoken from a natural sleep. It took a moment for her to collect her thoughts before she realized what must have happened. Anders must have cast a sleep spell on her before he left so that she would stay put while he went and did whatever it was he needed to do, which means it was probably something dangerous. She swore creatively before sitting up, wincing at the pressure she put on her right arm. He wasn't in the greatest shape either, and a few hours of sleep wasn't going to make him much better. She shook her head before looking the bedside table and she noticed that somebody had been kind enough to leave some food for her. Her stomach chose that time to growl loudly. She chuckled at herself before shovelling the bread and cheese into her mouth. When she managed to successfully swallow her food, she looked around and wondered how long she had been asleep. She was about to get out of the bed before Anders came through the door. He shot Willow his infamous charming grin, but there was something not quite right. His grin was shaky as he walked towards her, and his steps were sluggish, and she could _feel_ that he was in pain and it made her sick.

"Where have you been?"

"Running errands with the commander. Nothing major." His voice was even shaky. He walked up to the right side of the bed and sat down.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying?" Willow said softly as she looked for _something_ that would indicate why he was in pain.

"Because you're paranoid? Now, let's take a look at that arm," he said softly as he moved closer to her and exposed her shoulder. She noticed he was pale and covered in a light film of sweat as he began peeling back the bandages. A familiar blue light surrounded Anders' hands as he allowed it to pour into Willow's wound. She inhaled sharply at the feeling before placing a tired hand on Anders' head.

He was burning up.

"Anders, you feel as if you are on fire!" Willow said in a concerned tone.

"I'm fine, you on the other hand are still quite wounded," he said with a shaky smile. Willow looked concerned as she allowed her hand to wander down his chest and deftly unbuttoned his robe. He cocked a suspicious eyebrow at her, but she continued what she was doing until she found what she was looking for. Anders winced and the magic surrounding his hands dissipated immediately as she snaked her fingers under his hasty bandage work that was now exposed by his open robe. She sighed heavily before speaking

"Anders, I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I spent a year training with the Wardens and a year fighting a blight among other things. You should have been taking care of _this_," she said before carefully burning his bandages off. "Poison is not something that you should take lightly. Now, hold this over the wound. We're going to have to bleed the poison out because you left it so long and my right arm is still useless." Her voice was stern as she handed him some cotton from the bedside table before sitting up so that she could have better access to his wound.

He did what he was told before looking down at her. He had almost forgotten how short she was. Even now with her kneeling on the bed, and he only sitting on it, he could almost see completely over her head.

"I...took an antidote," he said sheepishly. Willow shook her head at him before using her magic to begin the bleeding. Anders let out a hiss of pain. "Can't you make it, I don't know, _not_ hurt?"

"Well _you_ were the one who let it get infected," she said with a chuckle. "Think of it as punishment for not looking after yourself." Willow shot a crooked smile at him before he swore angrily at her through gritted teeth. Willow sighed before saying, "I also don't have enough mana to numb it and heal it at the same time." She looked up at him, but his eyes were closed because of the pain. "How did you manage this anyway?" She asked in an attempt to keep his mind off of the pain.

"We went after the smugglers and one of them managed to hit me with a poisoned arrow before Nathaniel could take him out," he said in a pained before wincing again.

"And Rhiannon let you off with this wound?" Willow said cocking her eyebrow.

"She...didn't know it was poisoned...I informed her that I had healed it." Anders let out a pain filled groan before burying his head in her hair and pulling her close. He steadied his breathing before continuing. "Fortunately for me, she was more worried about you," he said into her hair.

"Well I'm going to be _fine_," she responded softly. "Now, this is probably going to be easier if _you_ lie down. It's hard to do this when I'm this close to you." Anders nodded before releasing her and lying down. Willow positioned herself so it would be easier for her to access Anders' wound without putting any pressure on her right arm. The two sat in silence for a while, save for Anders' creative swears. Willow paused for a moment to take in Anders' condition. She had removed the poison and most of the infection, and it was evident by the colour returning to his face. Willow removed her hand from the wound and took to bundle of gauze from Anders' hand and placed it on the bedside table. "Well the poison is gone," Willow said to Anders with a smile. "Now we just have to work on closing the wound, which luckily for _you_ is surprisingly shallow."

"Good," Anders said with a small groan as Willow began healing the wound. The warm feeling of her healing magic was a welcome contrast to the pain that removing the poison caused. After a long silent while, Willow leaned down to inspect Anders' wound, her long auburn curls falling over her shoulder in the process. Anders pushed her hair behind her ear, which caused her to blush slightly.

"Well," she began, her voice cracking, "I think we're done here, and I don't think you'll even have a scar." Anders looked down to inspect her work and let out a surprised sound.

"_Someone_ has gotten better," he said cheekily.

"Are you implying that I wasn't good before?" Willow asked with a raised eyebrow as she sat back.

"No, you just weren't as good as _me_, and now you'd give me a run for my money," He responded before returning to Willow's wound.

"Well I _did_ spend the majority of the blight with Wynne, and before she joined us I was the primary healer because Morrigan's healing skills left much to be desired," Willow stated as she pulled her hair away from the wound so that Anders would have better access. He put a hand on either side of her shoulder and allowed his healing magic to wash over the wound.

"I don't think Wynne liked me much," Anders said with the chuckle that seemed to vibrate through Willow's body. She inhaled sharply, which caused Anders to grin wickedly.

"I don't think it's that she didn't _like_ you, she was just disappointed that you were squandering your talents, I think," she said thoughtfully.

"It isn't as if I'm her child or anything, so I don't understand why she felt the need to go so far and be _disappointed _in me," Anders scoffed as he continued to heal Willow's wound.

"Unlike you and I, Wynne spent most of her life in the tower and she felt as if everyone there was her family, so in her eyes she _did_ need to go out of her way to be disappointed." She looked over at Anders, who had a look of deep concentration on his face. Whether he was concentrating on healing her, or what she said, she couldn't be sure.

"So...how long was I asleep?" Willow asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"The whole evening and the better part of the day," Anders stated. "I'm not sure I even _needed_ to put you under a sleep spell with the way you were snoring when I left." Willow shot him a dangerous look.

"I do _not_ snore."

Anders chuckled and shook his head lightly. "Whatever you say, my dear. Whatever you say."

"I'd think someone would have told me if I snored!" She tried to turn on him, but his hands on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

"I just did," he stated simply.

"I mean _before_ you just did."

"Maybe they were just being nice? And who have you been sharing a bed with lately hmm?" Anders asked cheekily.

"You would be surprised," Willow shot back at him. Anders shook his head slowly at her with a laugh.

"I probably would, now hold still so I can finish healing you." Willow rolled her eyes and looked away from him, not at all impressed with him. Anders chuckled again before applying a poultice to her wound and bandaging it up. "It was kind of endearing. I've never heard you snore before," he said trying to put her in a better mood. Willow raised her hand up slightly and flexed her fingers before turning to him.

"That's because you either didn't stick around throughout the night, or I was awake earlier than you." Her tone was a joking one, but the former part of her statement still made Anders wince slightly. He didn't know why her words effected him that way, because she wasn't the first one who accused him of such and it never bothered him then. Willow placed a hand on his with a smile, breaking him from this thoughts. "I am not mad about it. It isn't like you _could_ have stayed with me the entire night in the tower without either of us getting into trouble. And let us be honest here, it isn't as if you needed to get into anymore trouble." Anders looked into her green eyes with a smile.

"Not to ruin the mood, but I do believe I owe you a sovereign," Anders said before reaching into his pouch. Willow raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I said earlier 'if I haven't seen it before I'll throw a sovereign at it', well your tattoo is new."

"I thought you were speaking generally, not my body specifically," Willow said as she turned to face him. Anders handed her the sovereign and sat back on the bed with a grin.

"Are you going to tell me about it?"

"No."

"Well I already _know_ it's the same as your mother's, except it's on your back, so why don't you tell me the rest?"

"How perceptive of you," she grumbled. Anders stuck out his lower lip in an attempt to pout his way into convincing her. Willow only rolled her eyes before sighing.

Rhiannon decided that knocking first would be a good idea, lest she be surprised by two warden mages. She was greeted hastily by Willow who seemed more than happy by the interruption.

"I was thinking that if both of you are well that we should head back to the keep," Rhiannon said to the two of them.

"Yes!" Willow responded a little too enthusiastically. She looked around sheepishly before clearing her throat and continuing. "I mean, we should go, I am certain that our talents our needed elsewhere." Rhiannon cocked an eyebrow at Anders, who only shrugged innocently at her in response.

"Perhaps we should clean up here first, hmm?" Anders drawled.

"Good idea," Rhiannon responded before walking past Willow and into the room. It didn't take long to clean up the mess, and the three of them did it wordlessly. The three of them met Oghren and Nathaniel in the lobby.

"How's the arm?" Oghren bellowed. "Greasing the ol' wheel too hard? I had a hard time believin' sparkle when he told me about you 'n him, because I thought you and that redheaded girl were..." Anders turned to Willow with an evil smirk on his face, which she blatantly ignored.

"That doesn't mean I _don't_ enjoy the company of men, Oghren," she intterupted. "Now let us get back to the keep, shall we," Willow commanded loudly before walking briskly out of the inn, with the hopes that nobody noticed her blushing.

"I thought _you_ were the commander," Anders said to Rhiannon with a chuckle.

"Sometimes I think it's up for debate."

Willow had buried her face in her hands before letting out a heavy sigh. She used a minor cold spell in an attempt to cool her face down and reduce the blushing. _Why am I so embarrassed anyway? At least he didn't mention Zevran as well. _That_ would have turned some heads._ She thought to herself before straightening up. The rest of the party exited the inn and joined her. Anders had the most loathsome grin on his face, which Willow attempted to ignore.

"Shall we _commander_," Rhiannon joked.

Willow exhaled heavily. "Let's go," she responded while taking a long wistful look at the chantry. She would have to make another trip into Amaranthine, it seemed. Rhiannon shot her a concerned look before leading the party to the keep.


	7. Chapter 7

If Anders hadn't known any better, he would have thought that Willow was the noble, and that Rhiannon was her guard. She didn't have any weapons or mage robes for starters, Nathaniel had been _chivalrous_ enough to carry her staff for her, even though she had protested greatly. She was still wearing the loose green gown Rhiannon had brought for her. Rhiannon's leather clad form contrasted sharply with the small, almost fragile looking redheaded woman beside her. They were talking seriously about something. _Probably discussing what we should do next_, Anders thought to himself before allowing his eyes to wander over the two female forms in front of him.

"Mind your eyes, Anders," Nathaniel said, successfully interrupting his train of thought.

"And if I don't? Are you going to tattle on me?" Anders asked with a grin. Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

"You shouldn't leer at women like that. They do not like it much," Nathaniel retorted.

"That doesn't mean I can't enjoy a nice view."

"And you _wonder_ why she shot lightning at you."

"I never wondered why, I just thought she was overreacting," Anders drawled with a grin aimed at Nathaniel. "Now, who do you think has the better rear end?"

"You are _insufferable,_ Anders."

"Are you afraid the commander will hear you?" Anders continued to grin wickedly at Nathaniel.

"Ignore him, Nathaniel." Anders went white at the sound of Willow's voice for a split second, before he composed himself. "Anders puts on a womanizing front in order to hide the face that women such as myself _intimidate_ him." Willow had turned around to face them by now and she forcibly placed her hands on her hips as she shot an irritated Anders a wicked grin, before wincing slightly at the pressure she just placed on her right arm.

Anders shot her a look of concern that said, _are you alright? Do I need to take another look at your shoulder?_

"Isn't that right?" Willow said to him before walking up to him and linking her arm with his before they continued walking. She grinned a grin up at him that said, n_o, I am perfectly fine and capable of taking care of myself. I had just forgotten about it and got carried away. _To which Anders raised a speculative eyebrow that said, _you do not fool me. The minute we get back to the keep I'm taking a look at it._ Willow rolled her eyes at him before exhaling heavily, which to Anders said, _yeah right, you only want to see me naked again._

_Which would not be an entirely bad thing, should it happen_, Anders thought to himself with a chuckle.

Rhiannon was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was late, and she had thought that everyone had gone to bed, which was obviously not the case.

"Come in," she said, assuming it was Varel or Mistress Woolsey coming to inform her of some new tragedy. She was taken by complete surprise when she realized it was Nathaniel. Rhiannon stood up from her desk with a bustle before addressing Nathaniel.

"Nathaniel," she almost squeaked. "I'm surprised to see you here. I thought that you would be sleeping by now." She cleared her throat before finally standing still. "Please close the door." Nathaniel nodded before closing the door.

"I just wanted to apologize, Commander," he stated simply.

"What for?" She asked as she sat down before motioning for him to do so as well. He sat down across from her and exhaled lightly.

"For saying those things about your family. Delilah told me about how...evil my father was and how he deserved to die. So again, I am sorry for what happened to your family." There was concern in his voice and eyes. Rhiannon was touched by his concern and she gave him a small smile.

"Nathaniel," she said before standing, "I think we're giving your father a bit too much credit for what he did to my family." He shot her a confused look, which caused her to giggle slightly before moving to the Window. "It wasn't as if he could have accomplished it on his _own_, or even have the gall to pull something like that off."

"What are you getting at?" He wasn't sure if he should remain sitting, or if he should stand and follow her to the window. After a moments thought, he decided to stay sitting.

"It probably would not have occurred to me as quickly as it did had Dairren not said anything to me that day, but Loghain would _not_ have been able become the regent had my father, or even my mother for that matter, been alive regardless of the fact that his daughter was queen."

"Why wouldn't the landsmeet believe him if your father lived? And why would they allow your father to become the regent, if this is what you are implying, over Maric's best friend, also the hero of River Dane?" Nathaniel asked. He had thought he had left behind politics when he went to the Free Marches. This was clearly not the case.

"Duncan was a personal friend of my father's, and he would have never believed for a second that Duncan would allow, or lead the Grey Wardens to betray the king. Had he lived he would have been able to convince the landsmeet that the Grey Wardens wouldn't do such a thing because he was very highly respected by the vast majority of the nobility of Ferelden." Rhiannon sat down on the window sill before continuing. "And I _was_ implying that my father would have become the regent, and I say this because Dairren brought the fact that the a fair number of the nobility claim that my father should have become king when Maric died to my attention. Besides, my father was a noble by birth while Loghain was still seen as a farmer by a lot of the nobility, regardless of the respect they had for the man." Nathaniel nodded, impressed with how Rhiannon seemed to know her politics.

_She was the daughter of a Teryn_, he thought to himself with an inward chuckle. "Well, it seems you've thought this out," he said before standing up.

"Yes, well I've had _plenty_ of time to think about it," she replied with a chuckle. "Besides, I thought about it and your father could have gone an easier route, which he obviously thought of since he tried to get me to marry Thomas."

"Thomas? Well I'm certain that you would have had an...interesting life had you taken up on that offer," Nathaniel said with a chuckle. Rhiannon snorted in disgust in response.

"What I don't understand is why he never tried to have me marry _you_," she said in a very sly tone. Nathaniel came as close to blushing as he would allow himself to at her comment.

"Perhaps it was because he wanted me to inherit the Arling, and if I may be so bold my lady, the nobles all believed that you would inherit the teyrnir over your brother."

"Perhaps, but if _I_ may be so bold _my lord_, you would have been a more promising prospect." Her voice was low as she cocked a thin eyebrow, incredibly aware of how little she was acting like his commander. Nathaniel was quiet for a moment as he thought of what to say. It was quite apparent at how awkward she had just made him feel. "Honestly, Nathaniel," she said with a laugh, "if you call me 'my lady' behind closed doors, I'm going to have to act like a lady behind closed doors. So let this serve as a warning yes?"

"You do not wish to be addressed as such?" He asked, slightly baffled.

"Do you _honestly _know nothing about me? Do you think that I act like a lady?" Her brown eyes were twinkling as she teased him.

_This must be her own form of punishment for what he had said to her_, he thought to himself. She certainly looked like a lady in her blue dress, and standing tall as if she owned the room. "Being a lady, and acting like a lady are two completely different things, commander," he said simply. "Now, may I be dismissed?"

"Of course Nathaniel. You should get some sleep, I will need you to be in top form when we head into the Wending Woods." Nathaniel nodded and made his way to the door. He paused at the door for a moment before turning to her.

"You should get some sleep too, Commander." Rhiannon smiled in response and nodded, prompting Nathaniel to leave, before sitting down at her desk to resume looking over a few documents before heading to bed.

Willow had already been awake for a few hours by the time the sun had begun to rise. She had made her way to the battlements to watch it. The air was chilled with the onset of autumn and it caused her to shiver lightly. She was still wearing her nightclothes, and did not think to bring something warmer with her. The thought of going back to her warm bed briefly occurred to her, but thought against it. Anders was probably still there and her cold body would probably jolt him awake.

"I thought I'd find you here," she heard a familiar voice say to her. She raised an eyebrow at Anders who handed her a cup of tea.

"You're up early," she said to him as she gladly took the warm mug.

"This Grey Warden thing makes it hard to sleep in," he chuckled as he wrapped a blanket around her. "I thought you'd need this."

"Thank you. I was thinking about heading back to my room, but I didn't want to wake you. Clearly, I needn't have worried." She took a sip from her mug before turning to him. "Is there any purpose to your visit, or can you just not get enough of me?" She teased.

"I just thought you'd like some company. Besides, had I not shown up with a blanket, because I_ knew_ you were not dressed for the weather, you would be freezing right now," he said with a chuckle. "Would you like me to leave you be then?"

"No," she said softly before taking a sip of tea. "This is delicious...What is it?"

"Jasmine tea from my own personal store."

"Oh, I must be blessed then!" She said with a laugh. Anders grinned at her before trying to stifle a shiver. "Here, this blanket is large enough for the two of us...although I imagine you knew that before you grabbed it." Anders shot her a sly grin before moving under the blanket and wrapping it around the both of them.

"What are you doing up here anyway?"

"I came to watch the sunrise. My parents and I used to do it sometimes. Believe it or not, some people don't need to have sleep problems to wake up early. I thought that it would help bring some sort of closure, now that Rylock is dead." Willow took a generous sip from her tea before snuggling further under the blanket. The two of them sat in silence for a moment while the orange light bathed them in what little warmth it could offer.

"So...about last night," Anders said breaking the silence.

"What about it?" She looked up at Anders with a puzzled look on her face.

"Are you alright about it? I mean, do you regret it?" Willow couldn't read the look on his face, and it bothered her.

"No, why would I? You and I both needed it. I'm not that seventeen year old girl who would get upset or jealous when she saw you with another girl anymore. I don't _need_ to be in love with anyone to bed them."

"You got _jealous_," he asked with a laugh.

"Well Alice's robe didn't catch itself on fire," she responded with a cocked eyebrow. Anders let out a hearty laugh that vibrated through her body.

"So did you love this Leliana, or Zevran for that matter," Anders asked with what almost sounded like jealousy in his voice.

"...Who told you..?"

"Oghren says many interesting things when he's drunk." Anders cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh. I see. Well, not romantically. The three of us were very close friends who enjoyed spending...quality time in my tent together, even though it all started out so innocently." The sun had risen higher by now, turning the horizon yellow. Anders looked down at her with a puzzled look that caused her to laugh.

"Well, it was cold! Rhiannon had her dog and Alistair to keep her warm, so Leliana, Zevran and I decided that it would be best if we kept each other warm with our body heat...but it soon evolved from that." Willow had a wicked grin on her face as she finished, which caused Anders to chuckle lightly. The two stood in silence, enjoying each others' body heat while watching the sun.

"You know, you told me that you loved me once," Anders said into Willow's ear.

"And then you escaped from the tower that following evening," Willow shot back, cocking her eyebrow at him.

"That's not why, I just..." He spluttered

"It's fine," she interrupted. "I came to the realization _long_ before that, that you were not one to stay in one place too long. Even my bed, regardless of how much I thought I loved you." Willow finished her tea before giving Anders a slight smile.

"...Then why were you so upset when you saw me?" Anders asked in a very confused tone.

"Because you left me there all by myself," she said, only half telling the truth. "You were my entire life at that stupid tower, and the only reason I went in the first place was because I didn't want to leave you there all alone."

"You...went because of me?" Anders asked with concern in his eyes. He had always wondered why Willow had not simply turned into a bird or something when the templars found them and flew away. He looked down at Willow, who was giving him a look that said he should not say anything concerning that incident. "Certainly you had other friends."

Willow let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah right! None of the girls wanted to be near me because they were jealous that I spent so much time with you, and the boys were afraid of what you were going to do to them if they spoke to me."

"What about Jowan?"

"Well, he only ever came near me when you had either escaped or were...otherwise occupied. We didn't become friends really until you were thrown into solitary confinement." There was a bitterness in her voice that worried him. What had happened to her after he escaped? He imagined it was something more dreadful than being a loner, and he wondered if it was his fault.

"Willow...what happened to you after I left?" He asked with concern in his voice. She left the warmth of the blanket and was shocked at how cold it really was outside. The sun had almost fully risen and she was not liking where the conversation was going.

"I became a Grey Warden," she said shortly before walking to the door. "I suggest we continue to get ready. Rhiannon will want us prepared to leave for the Wending Woods soon, I would imagine." Anders knew she wasn't telling him something and he was beginning to grow annoyed at her insistence that nothing had happened.

"Right," he said shortly before following her away from the battlements. He was going to find out what happened to her, even if he had to disorient her to do it.


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Anders," a familiar voice said to him as he sat up in the cell.

"I think you mean the land of the imprisoned," he replied with a groan. He felt a hand rush immediately to his head and could tell by the reduced pain that Willow was alleviating his headache. "Mmmm, that feels lovely," he said softly before opening his eyes. Willow chuckled as she removed her hand from his head.

"And as usual, you are the last to wake up," She said in a teasing tone. Anders made a face at her before they were interrupted by Rhiannon.

"As lovely as it is to watch this civil interaction between you too, I think that we should get out of here, yes?" Rhiannon stood up and brushed herself off before surveying her group. She had Velana, Anders, Oghren and Willow. Nathaniel had stayed behind to be sure that someone could notify the keep of what happened should something go wrong. The rest of the party nodded in approval. "Good," Rhiannon said before inspecting the locks. While she was trying to pick the lock, a young elven woman, who had been infected by the taint, approached the cell.

"Serani!" Velana yelled. "What have they done to you? Now, let me get you out of here!" Rhiannon turned to her new elven companion with a worried look on her face. Serani was tainted and there wasn't anyway to save her.

"No, Velana, I'm fine, it's you guys he wants. Here, I'll let you out," Serani said as she unlocked the door. "The darkspawn have your things, now take this key. It unlocks a chest in the architects room."

"Wait! You must know something about what's going on here!" Rhiannon said forcefully.

"Oh no, they're coming! You best get out of here quickly!" Serani urged before she left quickly.

"Serani, Serani!" Velana yelled after her in the hopes that she could convince her to come back.

"Velana, I need you to pull yourself together," Rhiannon said softly as she turned to Velana. "You, Anders and Willow are the only three able to kill the darkspawn effectively until Oghren and I can get some gear, and I can't have lightning coming off of your body in every direction."

"Do not speak to me as if I am a child. I'm fine, now let us get this over with," she sneered angrily. Rhiannon rolled her eyes before cocking an eyebrow at Willow that said, _you wanted to keep her, and now you're going to have to deal with her_. Willow pretended not to notice, and instead led the party out of the jail cell.

The party had managed to kill the darkspawn and retrieve their things without many problems. Rhiannon had made it clear that she wanted them to find as much information on the Architect as possible, which was the easy part. Trying to decipher his notes was the hard part.

So was finding Keenan.

"Please, tell my wife that I died making the world safer," he said while wincing from the pain.

"Keenan, I'm certain that Anders and I could do _something_ for your legs," Willow said before kneeling down to inspect the damage.

"No, I fear that I am beyond healing magic...just take my wedding ring to my wife with my message please." Willow looked up at Anders with a pleading look on her face, but he shook his head slowly. There wasn't anything that they could do for him. She exhaled heavily before turning to Keenan and nodding her head.

"Keenan...I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," Rhiannon said softly.

"Don't be sorry. Just kill these bastards!" He said through gritted teeth before passing out.

Rhiannon nodded in his direction before leading them towards the dragon's den.

Willow cast a crushing prison on the dragon tamer, but he had managed to retain movement. She cursed before casting a petrify spell, which only slowed him down slightly. She heard the familiar smash of an enemy shattering. _Good, one down_, Willow thought to herself before casting a cone of cold that managed to finally stop the dragon tamer from moving,with the added bonus of freezing the drake behind him. Anders had managed to cast a death hex on the dragon tamer before turning his attention to the drake. Rhiannon had managed to take down a second dragonling before turning her attention to the dragon tamer. Before she managed to land a decent attack, the dragon tamer broke free from his icy prison. He took a mighty swing at Rhiannon, effectively throwing her and Willow backwards. All of the air in Rhiannon's lungs rushed out quickly. She lay there dazed before looking over at Willow before crying out to her. The maul had caught Willows head and she was laying there in what Rhiannon hoped was just a daze.

Her cry alerted the dragon tamer to her presence. He moved towards her, but Velana managed to cast a force field and rejuvenate spell around her before the dragon tamer could deal a finishing blow. It ran towards Willow with a cry, which alerted Anders and Oghren to what was happening. They had just finished taking down the drake. Before Anders could stop the dragon tamer Willow was engulfed in roots, which promptly disappeared before reappearing next to Velana, who had moved herself far from the fighting. Anders' mouth formed a tight line before he froze the dragon tamer for a second time allowing Oghren to shatter it.

Anders ran towards Willow once he realized that all of the enemies had fallen. Velana had already begun healing her by the time Anders had made his way to her. He could feel the pain that Willow was in, and it radiated throughout his body as he put his hand on her head and let the healing magic flow. She was close to passing into a coma and he was not about to let that happen.

The last thing Willow remembered before waking in the fade was being engulfed by roots. Her surroundings were not familiar and it worried her. She usually went to the same place when she entered the Fade. _Am I dead?_ She thought to herself.

"No Delany, you are still alive. That Anders boy has certainly become better at healing no?" She heard an all too familiar voice call say to her. Willow inhaled sharply before whirling around.

"Mamae?" She said softly before taking a step back. The spectre before her had the same auburn hair, golden eyes and presence at her mother, but she could not be certain. This was The Fade after all.

"Yes dear. Fairly close call there?" Her mother said with a chuckle. Tears welled up in Willows eyes before she ran to her mother.

"Apparently my rock armour is not as sufficient as I thought it was," Willow replied before giving her mother a hug. "Are you... I mean you just left and I wasn't sure if you..."

"I passed not long before you went to the tower," she responded abruptly before taking her daughter's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," Willow said softly, before letting the tears fall freely.

"Shh, enough of that Da'len. I do not have much time, and I have something to tell you." Willow's mother brushed the tears from her daughter's face.

"What about?"

"Your children."

Willow's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to respond, but she couldn't find the words. _Her_ children. Willow was unsure if this spectre was telling her the truth.

"They are alive and well, but you need to get them out of that chantry," her mother continued before turning to her with a stern look in her eyes. "They _will_ show signs of magic soon. I have been doing as much as I can to suppress it, but I fear I am reaching my limits."

Willow let out a sharp laugh. "_How_ am I supposed to get them out of there? Do I go up to the chantry and say 'oh hello, these are my children and I'd like them back please. Oh, what? Oh yes, I am a _mage_. I hope that isn't a problem'! They probably already know that their parents are mages and they will _not_ let my children go for that reason alone."

"Enough, Delany," her mother said sharply. "It has been done before, trust me."

Willow shot her mother a quizzical look. "_How_ do you know this? Are you even my mother?"

"Just trust me please." The look in her eyes melted Willow's sarcasm. It was only a look she was certain her mother was able to pull of. "You have friends in high places, who I am certain, would be more than willing to help you if you would just _let_ them." Willow looked to the ground with a stern look in her eyes. Her mother chuckled at her. "I know you have Dalish blood in you, but that does not mean that need to be as stubborn as a Dalish. Look at your friend Velana."

"Okay, I will do this."

"Good. I suggest you get them out as soon as possible...I fear that something terrible is going to happen." Her mother looked pensive for a moment before turning to Willow. "Now go, your friends are beginning to get worried."

Before Willow was able to say goodbye to her mother, she was torn from the fade. Willow sat up with a start and almost smacked her head against Anders' head.

"Ow," she said softly before she put her hand to her head and began attempting to alleviate her headache. Anders and Rhiannon let out a heavy sigh.

"Thank The Maker you're okay," Rhiannon said softly. Willow shot her a grin before turning to Anders, who was still pale.

"You okay?" She asked him before attempting to stand up.

"I'm fine _now_," he said while he caught her. "I would really appreciate it if you would never do that again._ Ever_." Willow shot him a sheepish grin in response. Anders sighed. "Now would you _please_ sit down before you fall and crack your head again?"

Willow didn't protest. Anders looked over her wounds one last time before declaring that she was fit enough to continue. Willow turned to Rhiannon, who was looking just as worried as Anders. "Did you get the ring?" She asked Rhiannon, who shook her head. "You should probably do that. We made a promise." Rhiannon nodded before walked over to the dragon tamer's body and searched it for the ring.

"Thank you Velana. That was a close call," Willow said with a smile. Velana's expression remained sour.

"I simply did it because I am need your help to find my sister," she said curtly. Willow felt Anders go tense and she placed her hand on his arm to prevent him from saying anything that would result in the two of them shooting fireballs at each other. Anders shot Willow an annoyed look, which melted away when he saw the look on her face.

"Whatever your reason, I am grateful," Willow said with a smile before standing up. Velana rolled her eyes in response.

"I have the ring," Rhiannon yelled before jogging back towards them. "I suggest we move on...are you going to be alright Willow?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," she replied, ignoring the ringing in her ears.

They were not prepared for the dragon Thralls. Anders swore loudly before raising his staff. Willow's eyes darted around the room hoping to find a vantage point before she turned her attention to the party. Rhiannon's was still injured enough for her to completely do without the second sword. Oghren was favouring his right leg enough for him to be off balance, and Velana was sporting a very nasty looking burn that she refused to let Anders heal and she was certain that his mana levels were not fairing much better than hers.

"I have an idea," she said softly to Rhiannon, who looked far too relieved. Willow turned to Anders and Velana. "You two!" They turned to look at her. "Take Rhiannon and Oghren over there," she pointed to a fallen beam, "and cast spell immunity. Make sure all of you are under it."

"What about you?" Rhiannon asked.

"I'll be fine. Just do it please," Willow commanded before turning to the party. Rhiannon nodded before leading the rest of the party to the fallen beam with haste. "Okay, here we go," Willow said softly to herself before casting spell might on herself before conjuring up a blizzard and a tempest. It caused a huge storm with Willow at the eye. The storm was doing much to slow down the dragon thralls, but they were steadily making their way towards her. The wind was howling in her ears as she cast a cold spell, effectively freezing it before casting a crushing prison.

She swore loudly when it didn't shatter.

Her mana was running low and she wasn't sure how long she could keep the storm up. The second dragon thrall took flight and was coming towards her. Before she could cast a spell, a petrify spell past her and hit the flying dragon thrall, causing it to turn to stone and fall to the ground, shattering it into many pieces. Willow whipped her heard around, only to see Anders cast a cold spell on the remaining dragon thrall. She let out a huge sigh of relief before her mana finally ran out.

The storm stopped shortly after.

Willow turned to see Velana, Oghren and Rhiannon run from cover and towards the dragon thrall that Anders had paralysed at this point. She let out an exhausted sigh with a smile before dropping to her knees. The ground was covered in snow and she hear the tinkling of the moisture in the air freezing. Her body shook uncontrollably, and it took her a moment to realize that she was shivering.

And very tired.

Willow looked up through heavy eyelids to see Rhiannon plunge her sword into the drake thrall's head. It let out an piercing scream before dying. Willow closed her eyes before falling the rest of the way to the ground. It was cold, but she didn't care. Sleep was the only thing on her mind. She could faintly hear the others running towards her, coupled with Velana yelling for her sister, before she was overwhelmed by a warm sensation throughout her body.

"Willow. Willow! Are you alright?" Rhiannon yelled as she sat down by her friend.

"Sleepy. I am...sleepy," she said with a yawn before curling up into a ball.

"Drink this," Anders said as he handed her a lyrium potion. It was obvious that his rejuvenation spell did little.

"No. It...tastes bad."

"Well you can't sleep there and I think we should keep _moving_." He felt as if he was speaking to a child. He knelt down next to her and helped her sit up before giving her the lyrium potion.

"Fine," she said sleepily before drinking the potion. She made a disgusted face as it went down. "Ew."

Anders shook his head at her before helping her up. "You'll be _fine_," he teased. She shot him an angry look that made him chuckle.

"We should go now," Rhiannon said in her commander voice. "You aren't going to collapse in exhaustion are you?"

"No. I should be fine now," Willow said with a shaky smile. It was obvious that she was still incredibly exhausted.

The trek to Amaranthine was a slow one. Rhiannon felt bad about pushing Willow like this, but they needed to get off of the road. She had suggested that Willow stay at the Keep, but Willow was adamant about going to Amaranthine. Rhiannon learned early on that arguing with Willow was futile, so she only sighed and relented. Anders cast another rejuvenation spell on Willow before they entered the gates.

"Do you need to rest again?" He asked as he moved to support her weight.

"No. I'll be fine," she said, ignoring that fact that she needed to lean on him for support. Anders raised a speculative eyebrow at her, but did not respond.

Mervis was glad that the situation in the wood was under control. Velanna was equally glad not to have been mentioned. Rhiannon gave the merchant guildsman the inscriptions and fine silk before moving to the chantry. Anders could feel Willow tense up as they approached the sister. Rhiannon handed her the sylvanwood samples before leading her group away.

Willow was the last to follow.

She looked up at the chantry with a nervous expression. _What am I supposed to do mamae?_ She thought to herself. She was torn from thought by someone touching her arm. It was Anders and he was saying something to her.

"What did you say?" She almost slurred.

"I said that we should probably follow the commander," he said with a grin. "What were you thinking about? Were you going to burn it down or something equally nefarious?" Willow cracked a smile despite herself before shaking her head.

"No, nothing like that," she replied before turning to the stairs. Willow was interrupted by a pair of high pitched squeals as two small children raced out of the chantry. She turned around quickly only to see a little blonde boy being lead by the hand by a little blonde girl out of the chantry. They must have been moving too quickly because the little girl tripped and fell, taking the little boy with her. Willow froze. Even at a distance it was clear that they were siblings, and who their parents were.

Anders turned to Willow, who looked as if she was trying not to either hyperventilate or cry, before turning to the two children. The sister usually stationed outside of the chantry had gone inside to deliver the sylvanwood, and nobody had run out chasing them. The little girl was holding her knee and looked like she was about to cry. Anders walked up to the two and knelt down to the little girl. Something about these two children seemed remarkably familiar. He looked over to Willow who was still standing still.

"It looks like you took a nasty spill there," he said with a smile. She nodded softly. "Do you mind if I take a look at your knee? I can make it stop hurting." She let in a shaky breath before nodding. She removed her hands from her badly scraped knee. Anders allowed his healing magic to flow into her knee.

He was surprised when she didn't flinch.

"What's your name?" He asked in an attempt to keep her mind off of her knee.

"Rosalin," she said with a shaky voice.

"That is a pretty name," Anders said before he poured some healing poultice onto a bandage and bound up her knee. "And who is the handsome young man with you?"

"Liam," said a small voice beside him. "What's your name?" He asked before moving closer to his sister.

"My name is Anders. Mage and healer of scraped knees," he said in a heroic voice, which caused Rosalin to giggle.

"Rosalin! Liam!" a cranky old woman yelled. The two children tensed as they heard their names. "Come back inside the chantry this instant!"

The little girl stood up. "Gottagothanksbye!" Rosalin said before she and her brother ran to the old woman. Anders stood up and walked towards Willow.

"I have a feeling that _you_ have a lot of explaining to do, my dear," Anders said seriously.

"I-I-I..," Willow stuttered before fainting.


	9. Chapter 9

"She'll be fine after she rests. She's exhausted," Anders said softly before looking up to a very worried Rhiannon, who was biting her thumbnail.

"What happened?"

"I really don't know."

"We should leave her then. _Hopefully_ she will feel up to telling us what is going on when she wakes up." Rhiannon put her hand on Anders' shoulder. "You should get some rest too."

"Yeah."

Rhiannon moved to the door and was about to leave before she turned to Anders. "Sitting there is not going to make her wake up any faster. You should go back to your room."

"In a moment," he replied. His gaze still rested on Willow's sleeping form.

"Yeah right," Rhiannon said softly under her breath before leaving the room.

Anders remained in his chair, hoping that his presence would wake Willow sooner. He had questions, and only she could answer them, even though he was certain he already knew most of the answers.

He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but was surprised when he was awoken by someone gently shaking him.

"Anders," Willow said softly, "I brought you some food." Anders groggily looked up at her. He yawned while he stretched before turning back to Willow.

"What?" He asked groggily.

"I said I brought you food. I imagine you're quite hungry," Willow replied before pointing too the food she put on the bedside table.

"You imagined correctly." Anders grabbed the meat pie and finished it off within a matter of seconds. Willow chuckled lightly before handing him a napkin. He gratefully took it before cleaning himself up. He looked up at Willow with a pensive look. She had changed from her mage robes into a warm chocolate brown gown. _How long was I sleeping?_ He thought to himself. Willow situated herself on her bed before pulling out a bottle of wine and two glasses from the drawer in her bedside table. "What are you..." Anders began.

"You want answers," Willow replied softly before handing him a cup of wine. "Answering your questions will be much easier after a glass or two of wine." Anders dipped his head in her direction before taking a swig of wine. Willow tucked her feet under dress in an attempt to keep them warm. Anders shivered slightly. The room was getting cold so he turned to the fire and lit it, effectively filling the room with a warm yellow glow. He turned back to Willow only to see that she was already pouring her second glass of wine.

"Hey, hey, hey...Take it easy," he said to her before taking the bottle away.

"I _told_ you I was going to need a few glasses of wine for this," she shot back coldly. Anders flinched at her tone. "I'm sorry," Willow said with a sigh. "This is a _very_ touchy subject, for me. Only people who needed to know, know." She looked up at Anders who was staring at her intently. There was no backing out from this. "Where...would you like me to start?"

"Wherever is best for you." Anders leaned back in his chair.

Willow exhaled before taking a sip of wine. "Do you remember that night we spent together behind that _conveniently_ placed bookshelf in the library?"

"We spent quite a few nights behind that bookshelf," Anders drawled.

"The night when I told you I loved you," she snapped. Willow closed her eyes before exhaling. She had thought she moved past the resentment, but clearly she had not. Willow opened her eyes, and could tell from the look on Anders' face that he remembered. "Well, you decided to make yourself scarce, well as scarce as you _could_ in the tower, after that evening so I don't think you noticed my weight gain. And then you probably would not have noticed that about five months after that I disappeared completely."

"I...I noticed," Anders said softly. "I just didn't know what to think. It was just such a shock."

"Really? You ser must have been _completely_ clueless. I think that everyone else in the tower knew _well_ before I told you."

"No, it wasn't that. I knew before you told me, but it was still a shock to hear you say it. I mean, _lots_ of women have told me that they loved me." Anders looked up at Willow. She was cocking her eyebrow at him with an unimpressed smirk. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to _pretend_ that I haven't been with many women. But it was different when you said it. I didn't want to hurt you and I felt that if I stayed I would. It was stupid."

"Yes, very stupid," Willow retorted. "People started asking questions around my fifth month along, so they isolated me from the rest of the tower. They must have thought that pregnancy was contagious or something," she said with a laugh. Anders smiled uncomfortably. "The only person that came to see me was Wynne, and that was mainly to check on me and the babies."

"Babies?" Anders asked, going paler than he previously was.

"Yeah. Let me tell you, it was _very_ uncomfortable for the last few months. Anyway, she told me not to get too attached because they were going to be taken to the chantry. Which was _impossible_ considering they were all I had for company, save for her visits." Willow finished her glass of wine before settling the glass down on the floor.

"Willow...I'm so sorry," Anders said before moving onto the bed. He cupped her face in his hands.

"Let me finish please." Willow moved Anders' hand away from her face. "Well, Wynne was my only visitor until I was about eight and a half months pregnant. Greagoir and Irving burst into my room and berated me with questions about how you managed to escape and where you were heading."

"Oh Maker," Anders grumbled before burying his face in his hands. Willow took his hands in hers.

"They threatened to take away my children, which didn't work because I already knew they were going to take them away. After that Greagoir threatened to lock me away in solitary if I wouldn't say anything."

"What did you say to them? It wasn't as if you knew!"

"That's what I said to them. I asked them how I could _possibly_ know considering I was locked away from the rest of the tower for three and a half months. I didn't even know you had escaped."

"What happened then? I don't imagine Greagoir was happy about it," Anders said with a disgusted laugh.

"Irving believed me and told Greagoir that they were not going to get any information out of me. Greagoir was not pleased. He insisted that I knew something, but he relented eventually... Speaking of which, where did you go?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular. I just wanted to be out of the tower," he lied. Willow raised a skeptical eyebrow at him before continuing.

"Riiight. Well, after that _exciting_ incident I was assigned a personal templar for the duration of my stay in that dreadful room."

"At least you had someone to talk to!" Anders said enthusiastically.

"True. Anyway. A few weeks later I gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl." Willow paused for a moment before inhaling a shaky breath. "I begged Greagoir and Irving to allow me to _at least_ name them before they were taken." Willow was fighting hard to keep control of her voice. "They allowed it," She choked out before continuing. The tears were flowing freely now and it took her a moment to compose herself enough to speak. "And then they took them away." Willow broke down into loud sobs before being scooped up into Anders' embrace.

"Shh...It'll be alright," Anders said softly into Willow's hair.

"They wouldn't even let me _see_ them," she choked out. "Once they were deemed healthy, Greagoir took them. Wynne must have put me to sleep shortly after that because I only remember waking up." Willow's sobs were becoming quieter and less frequent. Anders pulled Willow closer to him.

"Why did she put you to sleep?"

"I tore pretty badly, apparently. She was afraid that I was going to start thrashing about and make it worse, so she put me to sleep." Willow let out a shaky breath before looking up at Anders. Her face was flushed and her eyes were red and swollen. Anders brushed the tears away from her face.

"I'm so sorry. I should have stayed and done..._something_." Anders groaned in frustration as he buried his head into her neck. Willow reluctantly tore herself from his embrace before taking his hands in hers.

"What _could_ you have done? It isn't as if you could have stopped them from being taken away and they probably wouldn't even have let you in the room." Willow tried to make eye contact with Anders, but he was doing his best to avoid her eyes. She let go of his hands and stood up with a bit of a wobble. _Maybe I shouldn't have drank that wine so quickly_, she thought to herself before casting a small rejuvenation spell on herself.

"Where are you going?" Anders asked her as she made her way to the door.

"We need to get them out of there," Willow replied as she turned to him. "So, I'm going to go shoot lightning at something until an idea of how to accomplish that comes to me." Willow shot him a small smile.

"What do you want me to do?" Anders said sombrely as he stood up.

"Whatever you...want to?" Willow replied with a shrug before leaving the room.

It was raining.

Willow didn't mind. She was too absorbed in her thoughts to be bothered by the rain. Nothing was coming to her. She turned the prospect of breaking into the chantry over and over again in her head, but nothing was coming. It had been at least an hour since Willow had left her room and she was growing frustrated. She successfully landed what would have been a devastating blow to something living on the training dummy with her staff before setting off a chain lightning that fried the dummies. Willow called out in frustration before hurling a fireball at the middle dummy and felt satisfied when it was blown into pieces. Willow turned towards The Keep thinking that she had probably been out in the rain too long. She was interrupted by a small mewling sound coming from the nearest tree. Upon further investigation, Willow discovered that a small orange, and what she assumed would be fluffy if it weren't drenched, kitten mewling pitifully under a tree.

"What are you doing out here?" Willow cooed as she reached out to touch the kitten. It mewled again before crashing it's head clumsily into her hand. Willow chuckled as she picked up the little kitten before heading back inside.

The warmth of the keep was a welcome contrast to outside. The kitten was still making noise as she walked through the keep. _Well, so much for being inconspicuous kitten_, Willow thought with a smirk. She opened the door to her room to see Anders lying on her bed with a pensive look as he stared at two pieces of paper.

"You're still here?" She asked with a laugh.

"Mhmm. I took the liberty of calling for a bath for you," he replied pointing to the bathtub while keeping his eyes on the papers.

"You know me so well. It's a little strange," Willow mused as she grabbed a towel to dry off the kitten.

Anders looked over the papers when he heard a small mew. "Oh look at the cute little kitty! He looks like Mr. Wiggums!"

"The Tower's mouser?" Willow asked as she grabbed some scraps of meat off of Anders' plate. She gave it to the kitten who ate it gladly.

"Yeah. I miss that beast a lot sometimes. Only company I had when the templars locked me up...Poor Mr. Wiggums."

"Oh? What happened to him? He was always such a nice kitty," Willow said as she began to undress.

"He was possessed by a rage demon...But he did take down three templars. I was never more proud," Anders said with a laugh. "You know...I think that you could fill that tub to the brim with all of the water your dress has accumulated."

Willow stopped what she was doing before turning to Anders, who was staring at her with a bemused grin on his face. "Avert your eyes, Anders. You're lucky I'm letting you stay in here at all."

"Oh _fine_. But it isn't as if I haven't seen it before." Anders turned over with a disappointed groan. Willow rolled her eyes before completely undressing and getting into the tub.

"So, what were you looking over when I came in?"

"Oh, just some letters addressed to you," Anders said as he rolled back over.

"You read my letters? Who were they from?"

"Leliana and Zevran...I thought you said that there wasn't any love between you three," He replied with an almost jealous tone.

"There wasn't really, and what if there was? It isn't any of your business...now stop trying to make _me_ feel guilty when you were the one invading my privacy!" Willow's expression softened as she saw Anders playing with the kitten.

"Anyway, I had a thought."

"Oh _really_, this must be good," Willow shot back sarcastically.

"You are aware of your former lovers' professions, are you not? One was a Crow, and the other a Chantry sister."

Willow's eyes went wide as she realized what Anders was getting at. "I...never thought... I never put much consideration into their lives before the blight when I was thinking about what to do, to be honest... You are now forgiven for reading my letters."

"Well that's all well and good, but one thing has been bothering me... What are you going to do when you get..your children back?"

Willow winced slightly before taking a thoughtful pause. "I...I don't know. I thought about maybe going back to the little house I grew up in, but it's probably gone now. I'll have to see what happens I suppose." Willow paused for another moment before continuing. "And they're _our_ children. Not just mine." Her voice went quiet as she leaned forward to hug her knees.

"Of course," He replied softly before kneeling down beside the tub. He grabbed a jug that was sitting near the bath and dunked it in the water. "Lean your head back unless you want water in your eyes."

"I am perfectly capable of washing myself Anders," Willow shot back, but complied anyways.

"I know." Anders poured the water over her hair. "So, what did you name them?" He already knew the answer, but he wanted to be certain.

"Rosalin and Liam." Willow rested her head on her knees that were just above the water and faced Anders. Anders looked into her bright green eyes and the situation he found himself seemed all the more real. She was the mother to his children. His two beautiful children that he happened to run into earlier that day.

His two children were locked up in the Amaranthine chantry.

"Anders," Willow said softly before reaching to touch his hand. He looked up at her with a conflicted look on his face. "It will be alright. We'll get them out... and then we'll figure something out." Anders took her hand in his before planting a kiss on it. "Now...are you going to finish what you started? The bathwater is getting cold."

"What happened to 'I can do this myself!'?" Anders shot her a teasing grin.

"I like it when you do it, that's all," she replied as she handed him the shampoo. "Be conservative...I don't have much left." Anders chuckled as he took the shampoo from her.

"Yes my lady," Anders teased as he squeezed a small amount of shampoo into his hand before massaging it into Willow's hair. Willow let out a throaty groan as Anders continued to massage her scalp. Anders cleared his throat before speaking. "You know," he squeaked slightly, "I feel that our relationship has moved to another level."

"Oh? What do you intend to do about that? Are you suggesting we run away and live in sin, or something equally nefarious?" Willow teased.

"Not exactly," Anders replied with a chuckle, "although the living in sin part _does_ sound interesting... now lean your head back." Willow complied as Anders rinsed the shampoo out of her hair. "We seem to have passed the you-hating-me level."

"I never _hated_ you...I was just incredibly angry at the circumstances in which you place me," she stated matter-of-factually. She grabbed the soap before Anders could get his hands on it. "I can do this part myself."

"But that's the _fun_ part," Anders whined. Willow chuckled before washing herself.

"The bathwater is already getting cold, and by the time _you_ finished I'd be an icicle," she teased.

"Well I _could_ warm the bathwater for you."

"True, but I've already finished. Can you hand me that towel please?"

"Yes my lady," Anders teased as he handed her a towel. "I suppose you'd like me to avert my eyes now?"

"What do _you_ think?" Willow asked with a serious expression on her face. Anders sighed as he turned around and closed his eyes. He heard Willow get out of the tub before walking over to her wardrobe.

"Can I look now? When did you get so self conscious, by the way?"

"Yes you can look. And I am _not_ self conscious... I just don't need you getting any ideas." Anders opened his eyes and looked over at Willow.

"You don't want me to get any ideas and you wear _that_? You're having me on, aren't you?" Anders looked over Willow's chosen attire as he spoke. She was wearing a nightgown, if you could call it that, that hugged all of the right places and hung barely below the knee.

"Maybe," she teased before walking over to the bed. She got into it carefully, hoping she wouldn't wake the kitten, and pulled the covers up to her chin. "There. Are you happy? Now you can't see anything."

"I was quite happy with the view. _Trust me_," he replied before sitting on the edge of the bed, the kitten moved to Anders' lap before curling up and falling back to sleep.

"Look, he likes you... Perhaps you should keep him?" Willow suggested as she sat up.

"I don't think I should. We fight_ darkspawn_ for a living. He wouldn't be safe," Anders said as he looked down at the small orange ball of fluff that was sleeping on his lap.

"He can stay at the keep then."

"I...alright, I'll keep him just until I can find somewhere safer. Is that alright with you kitty?" Anders asked softly. The kitten mewed in response. "I'll call you Ser-pounce-a-lot!"

"Well I guess that's settled then," Willow said softly. Anders chuckled before looking down at Willow, who was propping her head up with her hand. His heart swelled with affection as he looked into her eyes. He bent down to kiss her, but she stopped him. "You'll wake the kitten," she said in a pained voice.

"Oh no! We wouldn't want that now would we?" He replied sarcastically. "I suspect that isn't the real reason," he added when he saw the look on Willow's face. Willow looked away from him. "What's the matter?"

"I _know_ you Anders. It is almost impossible for you to stay in one place too long. Especially when women are involved...and I don't want you to feel obligated to stay if you don't want to, and I'm not sure I can handle you leaving again," she replied softly. Anders looked down in thought. The two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Anders moved Pounce off of his lap. He moved closer to Willow before taking her in his arms.

"I am prepared to stay here as long as you want me here," he whispered in her ear. Willow turned around to face him.

"Are you certain? You don't ha-," she began. Anders cut her off with a passionate kiss.

"You're right. I don't have to," he said breathlessly after he broke the kiss. "I want to."

Willow returned the kiss with just as much force. She was clearly pleased with his answer.


	10. Chapter 10

Rhiannon sat down heavily in her chair. She knew that it was wrong to listen in on Willow and Anders' conversation. What was their business was their business, and not hers at all but something made her do it, and now she was not sure if she should speak to Willow about it.

"At least it explains a few things," she mumbled to herself before looking out the window. It was pouring rain and Rhiannon was certain she saw lightning. Upon further inspection, she realized that the lightning was coming from Willow. She walked towards the window and looked down to her friend who was mercilessly attacking the practise dummies. Rhiannon closed her eyes and thought back to the only time Willow and her managed to find themselves fighting with each other.

"_We are _not _killing an innocent child, nor are we killing his mother! How could you even suggest we do either of those things!" Willow bellowed._

"_What else can we do? We can't let this continue. Besides, all of this is the Arlessa's fault, shouldn't she be the one to fix it?" Rhiannon shot back hotly._

"_We can go to the circle. They will be able to send me into the fade and I can defeat the demon from there. Is death _really_ the penalty for wanting to save her son? Especially when there are other options?" Willow was so livid she could not control the magic that was pouring off of her in waves. Rhiannon had never seen her like this, and she was quite terrified of Willow, no matter how certain she was that Willow wasn't going to hurt her._

"_How about the deaths of all of those villagers? I would think that death would be a good punishment to atone for that! Besides, why wouldn't she have sent him to the tower. It can't be as bad as you make it out to be. Wynne seemed to be content there!" Rhiannon wasn't sure how it happened, but Willow had managed to slam her against the wall and hold her there with magic. _

"_How _dare_ you. You have no idea what it's like to be there!" Willow growled. Rhiannon had never seen her lose control like this before and she was frightened. Her face must have finally betrayed her because Willow's expression changed from infuriated into shocked. She let Rhiannon down before quickly turning around. "They never let you out," she continued softly. "Even if you are allowed out, you are followed by a templar _everywhere_ you go. Once you enter that tower you are no longer free. I can almost guarantee you that the Arl and Arlessa will not see their son after he gets sent to the tower." Willow's voice softened as she continued, "they take from you until you follow their rules and do as your told." _

_Rhiannon was breathing quickly, still unable to believe that Willow had thrown her against the wall "It'll take you at least a day to get there, and then another one to get back. You're willing to risk another attack just so that we could go to the tower," Rhiannon said with a surprisingly level voice._

"_I never said that _we_ would be going. I can get to the tower in much less than a day, and we will have a boat full of _mages_ on the way back. I am certain that between all of us, we could manipulate the elements to get here more quickly." Willow paused for a moment before turning to Rhiannon, "I suspect that it will only take a day for me to get there, and return with the mages. Does that please you, fearless leader?" She almost spat. _

"_Fine, but if anyone else dies it is on your head Willow," Rhiannon stated seriously. Willow walked towards the window and opened it. She turned to Rhiannon with a cocked eyebrow. "I mean it Willow," Rhiannon said to her as if she were speaking to a child. _

"_Alright," Willow replied lightly before turning into a bird and flying out the window._

Rhiannon realized that if it had come down to it, she would not have stood a chance against Willow, and from looking at how brutally the practise dummies were being beaten, she was almost certain that she still wouldn't stand a chance against her. _How far would you go to get them back, Willow?_ Rhiannon thought to herself with a frown. She looked down at Willow and thought of Rylock's death. _Was it really necessary to kill her? She was only doing her job. _Rhiannon exhaled heavily before lightly hitting her head against the wall behind her. She was beginning to doubt that the templars Anders arrived with were killed by the darkspawn. The thought of how much damage two could cause together made Rhiannon shudder. She sat watching Willow for a long time, trying to think of the worst case scenario where she would have to possibly kill Willow. Rhiannon shook her head and scolded herself for being paranoid, but deep down she still couldn't be certain that Willow wouldn't do _something_ bad, especially with her's and Anders' combined hatred for the circle.

Rhiannon jumped when there was a knock at the door. She laughed at herself before walking to the door. "Nathaniel! What are you doing here?" Her brown eyes met his worried blues. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"You should take these," he said softly while he handed her two letters. Rhiannon eyed him speculatively before taking the letters. She looked at the seals on the two letters and her face fell.

They were from Alistair and Fergus.

"Do you wish to come in? Is that why you brought these letters to me?"

"I thought that I should be the first to hear what you have to say about them, since they are concerning me," he replied evenly.

"Oh, did you read them or something?" She asked with a raised eyebrow before moving to her desk.

"No, but I think that it has taken enough time for word to get out that _you_ conscripted me into the Grey Wardens."

Rhiannon continued to eye him speculatively before sitting in her chair."Very well," she said with a sigh. "You can sit."

Nathaniel did as he was told.

Rhiannon opened the letter from Alistair first. The expression on her face didn't change as she scanned the page. She sighed before dropping the letter onto her desk and looking at Nathaniel. He was trying his best to keep the suspense he was feeling hidden.

"Nothing outrageous. It was mostly asking if I am sane, and to warn me of my brother's letter," Rhiannon said to him with a lopsided grin. Nathaniel didn't say anything, but looked down at the other letter instead. "I have a feeling that this one is going to be nastier," she said quietly. Rhiannon took up the letter and opened it slowly, dreading what Fergus had to say. She looked over the letter at Nathaniel when she finished reading. "Would you like me to read it to you? Or do you want an abridged version?" Rhiannon asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"The...abridged version would suffice," he replied without looking directly at her.

"Well, according to Fergus, I have lost my mind for recruiting you because you have spawned from the Black City itself and will destroy me. If I do not come to my senses and execute you soon I will be disowned." Rhiannon slammed the letter down onto the table when she was finished before getting out of her chair and standing in front of the fire. Nathaniel continued to look at the floor.

"I can be on the next ship out of Ferelden," he said softly before getting up from his chair. Rhiannon moved to him put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. He turned to her but he kept his eyes to the floor.

"You, ser, are not going anywhere," Rhiannon said softly before facing Nathaniel. He kept his eyes on the floor. Rhiannon placed her hands on his face and forced him to look her in the eye. "You are a valuable asset to the Grey Wardens, and I cannot afford to lose you." Rhiannon blushed before moving backwards quickly. She placed her hands behind her back and looked to her left. "Besides, Velanna would kill me if I allowed you to leave."

Nathaniel chuckled in response before fixing Rhiannon with a sombre look. "What about your brother? I would hate to separate your family more than it already is."

"Don't worry about it, I can deal with him. He's had a rough go of things, but I believe he will remember that you are not your father...eventually." Nathaniel's mood did not appear to change. "Besides," Rhiannon continued before glancing at the window, "we have more pressing matters to attend to."

"Yes, the talking darkspawn and the Architect," Nathaniel replied.

Lightning flashed outside of the window, causing Rhiannon to frown. "Yes, the Architect requires our full attention as of now."

"Is there something else we should be worrying about Commander? You seem...distracted."

"No, fortunately nothing else has come up...for now," she lied. Nathaniel seemed convinced. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Actually yes. I crossed paths with Anders on my way here and he didn't look like himself. He didn't even make a sly remark when I engaged him in conversation. Perhaps you should have a talk with him?" He replied before moving towards the door.

Rhiannon shot a nervous look out the window before turning back to Nathaniel. "Yes, I shall have a talk with him. I'm certain that everything will be fine, he is probably just shaken after our run in with the Architect."

"Yes Commander," he said before bowing slightly before leaving. Rhiannon nodded in his direction. She exhaled heavily before picking up the letter from Alistair.

_Dear Rhiannon Cousland, Commander of the Grey and Arlessa of Amaranthine,_

_I have received word that Nathaniel Howe is in Ferelden and you have recruited him into the Grey Wardens. Is this information correct?I find it hard to believe that you would spare a Howe, considering your past when them. If this is true, I just want to let you know that I do not doubt your decision to recruit him, but I do worry about you. Are you feeling alright? Was this the right decision for you? Why was he even in Amaranthine? Wait, I'm not certain that you should answer that, considering the possibilities._

_On a completely unrelated note, how is Willow settling in? She confessed to me once that she could never see herself living anywhere other than in the wild, and to be honest I think the wild is where she belongs. I always found something...well, wild about her. Hopefully she will be able to stay sane until everything is settled in Amaranthine. I realized recently that I honestly don't know much about her aside from how she was recruited, simply because she was my mentor when I joined the wardens. It got me thinking though, did any of us really know much about her? I asked Wynne about her once, but she claimed that she didn't know anything aside from the fact that she was one of the most talented apprentices, if not the most. I only mention this because I thought it was strange that we travelled with her for just over a year and yet we don't know much about her. _

_Anyway, I hope you are doing well. Hopefully things will begin to look up for you. I wish I could be there with you to help, but being King keeps me...busy to say the least. Please take care of yourself._

_Sincerely,_

_King Alistair Therin_

Rhiannon smirked before leaning back into her chair. "Why is it that nobody noticed until now that we don't know much about Willow?" She asked herself with a mirthless chuckle. Rhiannon put both of the letters into her desk before leaving her study. The next short while was going to be very interesting.


	11. Chapter 11

"I can do whatever _I_ want to?" Anders said to himself with a sigh. "What is it, exactly, that I want?" Anders let out a frustrated groan. He had been walking through the keep for a while in an attempt to keep his thoughts straight. He had even been too distracted to make a smart comment about Nathaniel being a messenger boy for the commander. "What does she mean by that, exactly? Does she _actually_ want me to do what I want, or does she want me to do what she wants? And what _exactly_ is it she would want then?" When Anders broke himself out of his thoughts he realized that he was in the library. He smirked as he walked over to a table piled with books and picked up a a piece of vellum that had notes scribbled on it. "Why would Willow leave her notes in the library?" Anders asked himself as he sat down at the desk. Anders glanced over her notes with a chuckle. "Only you could understand this short hand Willow."

_Anders sat down in the chair across from Willow and put his feet up on the desk. She continued to ignore him, so he balanced the chair on its back legs and bit loudly into an apple and chew obnoxiously. Two apprentices at the other end of the table shot him disgusted looks before getting up and moving to another table._

_Willow still ignored him._

_Anders swallowed his mouthful of apple."You know," he began before sitting up in his chair properly, "you would learn more if you actually practised healing instead of just reading about it. You've been here for two years now, and I think it's time you came to class." _

_Willow shot him a dirty look over her book before continuing to take notes. Anders bit into his apple again and grabbed the piece of vellum she was writing on faster than she could stop him, causing her quill to break and a long black line of ink to run down the vellum._

"_What _is_ this? How can you understand these...scribbles?" Anders asked before swallowing._

"_You shouldn't speak with your mouth full," she responded simply before trying to grab the piece of vellum back. Anders kept it out of her reach and shot her a cheeky grin._

"_I think you should leave these...scribbles and come with me to practise your healing."_

"_No," she said simply before grabbing another piece of vellum and a second quill and continued to write down notes. Anders sighed before removing the book that she was taking notes from. "Willow, you need to attend these classes."_

"_And_ you're_ the one here to lecture me on it? From what I've heard you rarely attended _your_ classes, and you almost refuse to teach them." Willow put her quill down and fixed Anders with a smirk._

"_Well I'm teaching this healing class," he pointed out plainly. "I'm turning a new leaf and you should join me!" Anders leaned in with a charming smile._

"_That smile may work on the other girls who are too stupid to realize your objectives, but it is _not_ going to work on me." Willow went to stand up, but Anders grabbed her hand._

"_Look Willow, you need to get over this fear of blood. What's going to happen if you're needed to heal someone with a grievous injury?"_

"_The likelihood of me ever getting out of this tower is so slim that I will most probably never have to heal someone with a grievous injury." Willow tried to remove her hand but Anders didn't let her._

"_That...may be true, but Irving insists and he will never get off of _my_ back about it if you don't come." Anders shot her a pleading look as he made his case._

_Willow exhaled heavily before burying her face into her free hand. "Fine, but you better make certain that blood does _not_ end up on me like last time."_

"_Deal," he replied with a smile._

"_Here, you might need this," Anders said as he handed Willow a hair tie._

"_Thanks. I didn't bring one because I hadn't _planned_ on being here," she responded with a slight sneer. She took a survey of the other students in the room. They were all significantly younger than she was and it made her feel uncomfortable._

"_Now, be careful with the amount of magic you pour into the fish otherwise it might –." One of the __younger apprentices, Thomas, had gotten slightly ahead of himself and caused the fish to explode. Small pieces of fish and blood went everywhere._

_Including Willow's face. _

_Anders exhaled heavily as he pointed towards the chamber pot in the corner of the room. Willow didn't have time to sneer at Anders before she ran to the chamber pot and vomited._

"_I am never going to hear the end of this," he muttered to himself._

Anders chuckled as he put down Willow's notes. He had not heard the end of it for a very long time. She had refused to attend his classes, or any healing classes after that and he couldn't really blame her. Someone almost always blew up a fish, or something equally gruesome happened for the weeks that followed that particular incident.

He escaped from the tower before he had the chance to finish instructing the class, and had managed to stay escaped for a few months. The templars managed to find him outside of Highever and they were significantly less gentile when bringing him back than usual. Anders winced as he remembered being dragged back to the tower.

"_We found him, Knight-Commander," Ser Bifford sneered as he kicked Anders' calf , forcing him to fall to his knees with a grunt._

"_He's looking a little worse for wear, you two," Greagoir lectured. "I'm _hoping_ that this kind of brutality was needed to bring him down and keep him in check? He is not able to heal himself if you have the anti-magic bracers on him like that."_

_Anders mumbled something particularly insulting to Greagoir, which earned him a swift kick to the gut from Ser Bifford. All of the air rushed out of Anders' lungs before he slumped wordlessly to the ground._

"_Show the Knight-Commander some respect!" Ser Ian snarled. _

"_That was hardly necessary Ser Bifford. He has clearly been through enough, and I have been Knight-Commander long enough to have heard even worse insults."_

"_I'm sorry Knight-Commander," Bifford said apologetically. "What would you like us to do with him? It's fairly late, but should we wake up the First Enchanter?" Anders felt like he was floating and could barely hear what the three templars were saying, and he wondered if they were going to execute him this time, or lock him away for a very, very long time at the very least._

"_No. We'll deal with Anders in the morning. We'll take him to his room...I don't think he'll be able to escape before we get to him in the morning with those wounds." Greagoir looked down at Anders, who was attempting to catch his breath, with an unreadable expression._

"_Of course, Knight-Commander," Ser Ian replied before he and Ser Bifford each grabbed one of Anders' arms and forcibly walked him to his room._

_Anders' eyes flew open when he felt someone unbuttoning his robe. It was dark and his vision was still slightly hazy and it caused him to attempt to get out of bed in a panic. He was stopped by a pair of hands softly easing him back onto the bed._

"_You shouldn't make such sudden movements," a familiar voice whispered into his ear. "You are going to hurt yourself further."_

"_Shouldn't you...have a light on? I'm the only one in this room, you know, and it would probably help to be able to see what you're doing," he teased before lighting the candle by the bed using what little magic he had left. The flame illuminated Willow's face, and it helped comfort him. _

"_Tsk. Anders I don't need to see your wounds to be able to heal them. Besides...there is a templar outside of your room. Granted, I did put him to sleep but I don't want to wake him," she responded quietly, but he could tell that she was clearly unamused. "Now sit up so I can have better access to your wounds."_

_He complied._

_Willow put her hand in a bowl of water and mumbled an incantation. The water began to steam as soon as she finished speaking. She dipped a piece of cloth into the hot water and began to wipe the dried blood and dirt off of his face. He let out a hiss as the cloth touched his face. He was surprised when Willow didn't make a smart comment. Anders turned to look at her when she went to rinse out the cloth. Her jaw was firmly set and her breath was shaky as she continued to clean him._

"_Willow...I'm..." He began._

"_Shut up Anders," she choked out. He opened his mouth, but the look that she shot him made him rethink what he was about to say. The two sat in silence as Willow continued to clean him up. Anders heard the cloth plop into the water before he felt the warmth of Willow's healing magic wrap around him. Anders exhaled heavily as he rested his head on the wall behind him. He let out a hiss when Willow touched the myriad of yellow and green bruises on his ribs. He looked down at Willow's glowing hands as healing sigils poured from her hands into his bruises. _

_They were shaking._

_Anders took her hands in his, but the healing magic that he thought was flowing from her didn't cease. He realized after further inspection he realized that the magic wasn't just flowing from her, but it was connecting them._

"_How are you doing that?" He asked mystified. Willow looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. He could tell from the way that she was contorting her face that she was trying to keep herself from crying, but she was failing miserably. "Oh Maker, Willow...I am so, so–" he began, but was cut short by Willow's mouth urgently covering his. He returned the kiss with a fervour after he got over his initial shock. The warmth of her healing magic connecting them made him dizzy in all sorts of delightful ways. Anders buried one hand in her hair as he cradled the back of her head, while placing the other on the small of her back and pulled her towards him, deepening the kiss. Willow moaned lightly in response before wrapping her arms around Anders' neck and pressing her body closer to his. He grunted suddenly into her mouth before breaking the kiss as she brushed his midsection with her knee as she tried to move closer._

"_Careful," he said raggedly before hungrily pressing his lips against hers._

"_Sorry," she whispered into his mouth before he claimed hers again. He could taste tears and magic as he left a trail of hot kisses down her neck. He closed his eyes and groaned as he felt Willow's magic take his pain away. Willow's magic flickered and he was suddenly paralysed by a rush of emotions that he knew weren't his own._

_Fear, anger, worry, resentment, sadness, joy and relief assaulted him all at once before Willow's magic died along with the candle. Anders lit the candle with a shaky hand before turning to Willow who looked as if she was going to faint._

"_Hey, hey, hey. Don't faint on me now," Anders whispered with a shaky voice. She shot him a shaky, exhausted smile in return before unceremoniously flopping forward onto the mattress with a grunt. Anders quickly grabbed Willow and sat her up to face him. _

_She was a mess._

_Her hair was tousled and her freckled face was tear streaked. She exhaled slowly before propping herself up and rubbing her eyes. Anders looked down at himself and was surprised to see that most of the bruising and pain were gone. _

"_Willow...what did you do?" _

_Willow stretched with a yawn before positioning herself so that she was face to face with him. "Anders don't you _ever_ do this to me again," she shot at him, blatantly ignoring his question. _

"_I _need _to get out of here. This place drains me of everything I am. I can't stand it," he said bitterly before looking away from her. Willow must have almost fallen over again because she less than gracefully collided with Anders._

"_Don't you get it Anders," she whispered as harshly as she could. "They will _always_ find you. The next time they might not even bother _bringing_ you back! And if they do you are going to either be locked away for a very long time or executed!" Willow's voice was wavering by the time she finished. Anders pulled her to him and buried his face into her hair._

"_You don't know that," he responded, slightly hopeful._

"_Yes I do," she spat out before attempting to tame her emotions. "I heard Greagoir talking to Irving about it. The Chantry is going to go to any lengths to prove that you are dangerous and have you removed... And I don't know how I will manage if –" Willow's voice caught, but she didn't need to finish the sentence. Anders exhaled heavily before resting his forehead on Willow's. _

"_Alright," he said softly. It was his fault that she was in here, after all. Willow let out an exhausted sound of glee before pressing a chaste kiss on his lips. _

"_Thank you," she whispered before getting off of his bed. "I should go though...I don't think it would be a very good idea to be found here."_

"_They'll probably know you were here anyway. You might as well stay," Anders said with a grin. _

"_You make a good point...plus I'm not sure I have enough magic to shape shift long enough to make it to the apprentice quarters," she responded before curling up next to him in the bed._

"_You are going to be in _so_ much trouble, my lady," he whispered into her ear before extinguishing the candle._

"_Not _nearly_ as much trouble as you are," she shot back sleepily._

"No kidding, Willow," he said to himself with a chuckle. He had spent the next month in solitary, and he had heard rumours that said that he was a blood mage. Willow had never mentioned what Irving and Greagoir had said to her, but he suspected that similar rumours were surrounding Willow.

It took Anders a moment to realize that he was headed to the training grounds. He sighed as he walked to the end of the corridor and began to watch Willow. It was not long before he heard footsteps behind him.

"It's quite frightening, isn't it?" Anders said to Rhiannon as she walked up behind him.

"Hmm?"

"She's been going like this for about an hour and she _still_ has the energy to keep going and cast even more powerful spells," he replied in awe. He never would have guessed that the silly, lighthearted fifteen year old girl he had met six years earlier would have been able to possess this level of power.

"I am glad that she's on our side. I would _very_ much hate to have to fight against her. Even if I was more powerful than she is, which I'm not sure I am, I would be out of mana before she even felt tired."

"Why are you bringing this up?" Rhiannon asked skeptically. She turned to face him before leaning back on the wall. She wondered for a moment if Anders was afraid that Willow would become dangerous if provoked.

Even to him.

"Why are you out here watching her?" Anders shot her a sly grin. "It is raining if you haven't noticed, and I'm certain you already have a good idea of what she is capable of, considering you travelled with her for a year."

Rhiannon let out an exasperated sigh. "I asked you first. Besides, we are under shelter." Anders chuckled at her.

"I was simply going for a walk and I ended up here." It wasn't entirely a lie. Rhiannon raised her eyebrow at him.

"Then why don't you go back inside? It's cold and dirty," she taunted.

"Well, this particular corridor has a nice view," Anders responded with a cheeky grin. "Now it's your turn."

Rhiannon bit her lower lip and looked over at Willow. "I...I don't really know. I could see her from my study and I...I just ended up down here." They stood in silence for a moment, listening to the rain before Rhiannon spoke again. "I don't even think I know_ her_... I'm not sure if _any_ of us do," she whispered. Anders studied her for a moment for before letting out a slight chuckle.

"You know more about her than most people do. You should be honoured," Anders teased.

"Probably not as much as _you_ do," Rhiannon shot back.

Anders grinned at her. "Well I've known Willow for eight years now, I should _hope_ I know her better than most."

"You haven't had any contact with her for the last few years! She must have changed from when you knew her. Especially considering everything she's been through during that time."

"She hasn't changed much, to be honest," Anders said lackadaisically while poking his head out of the shelter to inspect the rain.

"So she always shot lightning at you?" Rhiannon responded sarcastically.

"No," Anders said with a chuckle. "She had never really liked violence. She is the type of person who will sacrifice her own comfort for the comfort of others, which is why I think she took to healing magic the way she did. Although, blood used to make her sick...which posed a problem when she would have to heal deep wounds." Anders looked over at Willow with a laugh before shaking his head.

"Well if that's the case, she hasn't changed _at all_." Rhiannon's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. "Willow killed more than darkspawn throughout our travels, and she managed to heal some of our worst wounds without vomiting everywhere."

"Just because she is functional when there is blood everywhere, doesn't mean it doesn't still make her sick," Anders shot at her. "If you paid attention you would notice the look of horror flash across her face when she is confronted with blood. When she was healing your worse wounds, she probably had you sedated, or you were too out of it to notice her reaction." Anders knotted his eyebrows together and looked to the ground. "I can only imagine the look on her face when she was confronted with the goblet during her joining."

"I...uh, oh. I see," Rhiannon responded, slightly embarrassed. She had honestly not thought much of Willow's fears. "She had always seemed so fearless to me, so to think of her being afraid of blood seems so...silly."

Anders raised an eyebrow at her, which caused her to chuckle.

Rhiannon continued, "After Ostagar I was afraid of what was set out before us, but Willow wasn't. She became the leader of our small group, granted she was the senior warden, and made certain that everyone was comfortable, well as comfortable as you could fighting a blight...I think she even went without food some nights just so that everyone else could eat." Anders raised his eyebrow at her, which caused her to blush slightly. Rhiannon suddenly felt silly and childish for thinking that Willow would do something so reckless and need to be stopped. The two stood in silence for a moment and listened to the rain beat the ground before Rhiannon spoke again. "So... what else hasn't changed about her?" Rhiannon was suddenly much more curious about her friend and former leader.

"Well, you should really be asking _her_ about this." Anders raised an eyebrow at her. Rhiannon rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Fine, fine. Fortunately for you I am a _huge_ gossip." Anders hoped that relaying what he knew about her would help him figure out what he should do. "Well, her family was and will always be incredibly important to her. That doesn't just mean her blood relatives, however. I imagine the reason why she looked after everyone on the road was because she thought of your group as her family. She would probably die for any of you." Anders gazed over at Willow wistfully. She had been ready to _die_ for him when Rylock tried to take him and he wasn't certain that he deserved that kind of devotion.

He did break his promise after all.

"What else?" Rhiannon asked hopefully, successfully breaking him from his thoughts.

"She also has an _unholy_ obsession with botany, which I'm certain you noticed when her and Ines were speaking about the northern prickleweed seeds. She taught me more about herbalism than anyone in the tower ever did." Anders looked over at Willow and remembered his first outing with her.

"_Anders, it is important for us to look after nature because without her we would not be able to live!" A hopeful fifteen year old red head said to him as she buried a pine cone deep into the earth._

"_Well that's all well and good, but it's quite cold and dirty out here!" He whined. After the events of the preceding winter, he had had quite enough of the cold._

"_Anders, this forest and its magic are the main reasons why the templars have not found us yet. The least you could do is show it some respect." Willow stood up and brushed her hands off on her trousers before cocking an eyebrow at him. "Besides, if you helped you'd be less cold and we could finish faster. When we're finished we need to go looking for herbs so I can show you how to make proper poultices."_

"_What for?" He asked as he knelt on the ground and prepared to move some earth. "The ground is still slightly frozen, what exactly did you want me to do?"_

"_We need to get some herbs for poultices and others for cooking." Willow knelt down across from him and put her hands just in front of his on the ground. "Now you have to–."_

"I have already noticed these things. Tell me something I don't know!" Rhiannon shot at him, breaking him from his reverie.

Anders' expression softened before chuckling. "Willow _loves_ being out in nature, but she also really likes fine things, which sometimes leads to some _hilarious_ conversations."

"Yes, her and Morrigan would have conversations about how they want to live in the middle of the forest...but with many shiny things," Rhiannon mused with a chuckle.

"We have had similar conversations," he replied. "Anyway. Willow is also a free spirit, which is why we got along so well I think. Being at that tower must have eaten away at her." Anders looked to the ground and ran a hand over his hair.

"How...did she end up in the tower?" Rhiannon asked as she stood up straight.

"It's a long story. It was my fault, to say the least. When the templars found me, they acquired her as well." Anders made a frustrated sound before forcing himself to calm down. "I should have kept moving...but there is just something about her. She sees the world so differently than most of us, and she takes pleasure in the world around her and it's infectious. She drew me in and I couldn't just leave her. _Especially_ after her mother died."

"I see," Rhiannon whispered. "But you were there in the tower with her right?"

Anders let out a disgusted sound. "Not when she needed me to be there." Anders spat out his words as if they were rotten.

It was true.

He was young and frightened at the prospect of having someone – having Willow – love him, and he was too foolish to admit to himself that he loved her too. He had never wanted to hurt her, but his fear of being that intimate with someone, and possibly hurting them, drove him to abandon her there.

"Oh," Rhiannon felt uncomfortable for a moment before forcing the feeling away. "Do you still love her?" She had not meant to ask that particular question, but her curiosity ran away with her before she could stop it. "Oh Maker, I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that," Rhiannon spluttered. "Oooh, Maker, am I ever foolish." Rhiannon looked over at Anders who was chuckling lightly.

"Yes." Anders gazed over at Willow. He could not imagine being without her in his life, and he was unsure how he had managed the past few years without her looking out for him. "Although I don't really think it matters much. She probably wouldn't want much to do with me after what I did to her," Anders said with a hint of sadness.

Rhiannon sighed and shook her head before speaking. "You are not _nearly_ as smart or perceptive as you think you are if you think that she doesn't want much to do with you," Rhiannon responded with a light laugh.

"Pardon _me_?" Anders asked, slightly offended.

"Anders, if you haven't noticed, Willow is in love with you. I'd say that you'd have nothing to worry about when it comes to that. However, I can understand that there would be some trepidation on your part considering your past with her." Rhiannon raised an eyebrow at Anders, who was looking sheepish. "Although I don't really think that I needed to tell you that."

"Yeah, I was just being foolish," Anders responded softly.

"Now, I think that we should head back inside. It _is_ quite cold out."

Once they got into the throne room Rhiannon was given two letters.

"These are for Willow, Commander, I have a feeling that you are going to see her sooner than I will and they looked important," the private said before excusing herself. Rhiannon raised an eyebrow at them when she noticed who they were from before handing them to Anders.

"Here. I imagine that you are going to be seeing Willow soon?" Rhiannon said to Anders

"Yes, I think so."

"Good. Make sure she gets them. Also, I think that getting a bath ready for her would be a good idea," she stressed before taking her leave of him.

"I...uh...yes Commander."

"Oh Anders!" She called to him. "Don't read her mail...she _hates_ that." Her tone was less than convincing.


	12. Chapter 12

Anders woke up feeling lighter than he had for a very long time, despite the hurdles that were facing him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before sitting up in the bed. The sky was orange with the rising sun, which surprised him, because he rarely naturally woke up before the sky was mostly blue. _Willow must be rubbing off on me_, he thought to himself with a chuckle.

He was slightly startled when he felt claws touch his thigh.

"Good morning Ser-pounce-a-lot!" Anders cooed at the kitten who was sprawled lengthwise between him and Willow.

Pounce squeaked in response before curling up beside Anders while purring loudly. Anders looked over at Willow, who was snoring lightly, and smiled to himself.

"But I thought she said that she didn't snore!" Anders said to Pounce before quickly pulling the covers off of Willow. A look of discontent spread across her face as she strained to reached down for the blankets. Anders chuckled at her determination to stay as asleep as possible while reaching for the covers. Willow let out a sleepy grumble and gave up before opening her eyes glaring sleepily at Anders.

"If I had known this was how you were going to wake me up, I would _not_ have allowed you to share my bed," She sneered before sitting up.

"Think of it as pay back for all of those times you took extreme measures to wake me up back in the tower," he retorted with a chuckle.

"Considering the trouble you got me into at the tower, I think that we're even," she joked while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Why are we awake so sodding early anyway? I have having such a nice sleep," she whined.

"We're going to the chasm that the hunters found, remember? The Commander wanted to leave early," he lectured. Willow pouted in response. "Come on now _Grumpy_. We don't want to make the Commander wait, do we?"

"Do you know how many times _I've_ had to wait for Rhiannon? Too many times to count! Well, today is the day that she waits for _me_!" She joked.

"Normally I would condone this kind of behaviour, but I'm afraid that it would turn out badly for _me. _Now we should hurry up and get ready." Anders teased before moving to the edge of the bed. He was stopped by Willow's bare legs encircling his waist before she softly laid him back on the bed.

"You woke me up rather rudely, so now you will have to face the consequences of your actions," she cooed seductively as she ran her finger of his chest, leaving small trails of magic on his skin. Anders chuckled as he stroked her thigh.

"Your female wiles will not get to me!" Anders shot back, but he didn't try to remove himself. Willow bent down just enough for Anders to peek down the front of her nightgown, or what she called a nightgown, before biting an earlobe softly.

Anders groaned in response before he felt something fuzzy weigh down on his chest. Willow must have felt the strange fuzzy thing too because she suddenly sat up.

"Oh, you _traitor_," she shot at the strange fuzzy thing. Anders opened his eyes, only to see Pounce making himself comfortable on his chest. "I _saved_ you, and you repay me by thwarting my vengeance?" Willow continued. Anders laughed heartily before removing Pounce from his chest. "Well that moment is now officially ruined," he teased. Willow sighed heavily as she removed herself from Anders' lap. "See, I _told_ you your female wiles would not get to me!"

"Only because you _cheated_!" Willow shot back as she walked to her wardrobe. "Honestly, using the kitten against me. How low can you get?" Her voice was slightly muffled as she took off her nightgown.

"Pounce acted on his own behalf," Anders responded as he looked for his robes. "I wouldn't consider that _cheating_."

Willow grumbled something in response before putting on her robes.

"Aha! There you are," Anders said before putting on his newly found robes. He turned to Willow who was pulling up her leggings. "Don't you have better robes?"

Willow paused for a moment before turning towards Anders. "Yes, but they're just so _ugly_, and they feel weird," Willow whined. Anders shot her an incredulous look before bursting into laughter. "Don't you _dare_ laugh at me, Anders. You wouldn't wear them either! Those robes and I just don't... belong together," Willow shot back, slightly embarrassed. It took Anders a moment to calm himself down.

"I...just... Oh wow, Willow." Anders was still chuckling as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Don't_ belong _together?" The amount of amusement that Anders was getting from this was making Willow feel incredibly embarrassed.

"Remind me again why I didn't let Rylock take you?" She shot back casually, hiding her embarrassment, before grabbing a hair tie and putting her hair up into a pony tail.

"Because you can't get enough of my charming personality...among other things," he responded seductively with a waggle of his eyebrows. Willow chuckled before pulling the ugly robes from her wardrobe.

And they were ugly. The robes were styled after the robes mages are forced to wear in the tower and had a disgusting dirty muted green colour, embellished with a sour looking yellow pattern embroidered on the front.

"Yeah, of course that's why," she said sarcastically. "In all seriousness though, they feel..._weird_." She handed him the robes. He took the robes from her and ran his hands over the fabric.

"Hmm. They do feel weird... I would guess that the enchantments are tailored for blood magic. They probably feel weird to non-blood mages then." He handed her back the robes with a grin. "They are also really, really ugly. I probably wouldn't wear them."

"See! I told you!" Willow exclaimed before putting the robes away. "Now fix your hair so we can go to breakfast."

"Yes _mother_," he mocked as he fixed his hair.

Willow sighed heavily. "You're lucky I like you Anders."

"You only like me?" Anders teased with a chuckle. He didn't even hear Willow walk up behind him before she wrapped her arms around his midsection. Anders had to clear his throat before speaking. "Have you been taking lessons from Nathaniel?" He asked while turning around to face her.

"No," she said while burying her face into his chest. "I learned how to be stealthy at the tower."

Anders hugged her tightly. "Ah yes, our many midnight meetings behind the bookcases."

Willow looked up at Anders with a smile. "I love you," she whispered, albeit a little shaky. Anders could tell that she was trying to be as assertive as possible, but there was a look of worry in her eyes and it caused his heart to swell with affection. He slid his hands up her body and cupped her face before pressing a gentile kiss against her lips. Willow returned the kiss with a sense of urgency that Anders gratefully reciprocated. Willow parted her lips with a moan, allowing Anders to deepen the kiss as his hands roamed over her body, allowing his magic to sink into her skin, which caused her to moan louder. Anders' stubble was scratching Willow as they battled for control of the exchange. The familiarity of the delicious mixture of power, pleasure, and pain caused her to whimper as she urgently clutched at his robes. Anders chuckled into her mouth before pinning her on the bed, minding the location of Pounce. Anders broke the kiss in order to catch his breath, only to be flipped onto his back by Willow, who effectively straddled him. She looked down at him with dark eyes and a wicked grin splayed across her face. He let out a throaty, sensual laugh as he sat up to place a soft kiss on her lips. Willow cupped his face in her hands and rested her forehead on his.

"Willow...I," he began, but was cut off by knock at the door. Both Anders and Willow exhaled in disappointment.

"Yes?" Willow called to the door as she removed herself from Anders and walked towards it.

"Breakfast has been ready for a while now and you have yet to make an appearance. I wanted to make certain that you were still alive," Rhiannon responded flatly. Willow straightened out her robes before opening the door.

"Sorry, I was finding it hard to get out of bed," She replied politely. Rhiannon looked over Willow's shoulder and saw Anders standing in the room sheepishly.

"Oh, well I can see why you might have found it hard to get out of bed," Rhiannon teased while cocking her eyebrow.

"Hah, yes well, we should probably head to breakfast so that we can get going though," Willow blustered before walking past Rhiannon towards the dining hall. Rhiannon crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow at Anders.

"Did I interrupt something?" Rhiannon teased. Anders gave her an oh-come-on-now look, which caused her to laugh at him. "What? I had _no_ idea that you were in here," Rhiannon obviously lied with a smile on her face. Anders sighed before picking up Pounce and leaving the room. "Ah, new Grey Warden?" Rhiannon asked as she pointed to Anders' pack.

"I guess you could say that," he responded before closing the door behind him.

Pounce mewed, knowing he was being spoken of.

The rest of the wardens were eating when Willow hurried into the dining hall, followed closely by Anders and Rhiannon. Everybody at the table was too absorbed by eating their own breakfast, they didn't even remark on Willow's tardiness. She chuckled to herself when she saw the way Velanna and Nathaniel were trying to be as polite in shovelling their gruel into their mouths as quickly as possible. Oghren, on the other hand, did not feel the need to be neat in his eating, and it was causing Velanna to shoot as many disgusted faces at him as she could.

"Must you eat like a pig, dwarf?" Velanna finally sneered.

Oghren grumbled something that was incoherent partly because he was too busy shovelling food into his mouth, and partly because he was clearly drunk. Willow shot a look of concern to Rhiannon who was in the process of sitting down. Rhiannon shrugged, but looked equally concerned. Willow looked down to the end of the table where Oghren was sitting, and after a moment of contemplation, and a nod from Anders who had just sat down beside her, she cast a fairly powerful rejuvenate spell on him. Oghren blinked a few times before giving Willow a confused look. She only shrugged in response before returning to her food.

"What...What did you just do to me?" Oghren asked Willow.

"You looked like the walking dead, so I thought you might need a pick-me-up. That's all," Willow responded matter-of-factually. Everyone at the table fell silent and resumed eating. The air around the table was thick with tension until, as if on cue, Ser-Pounce-A-Lot escaped from Anders' pack, jumped on the table, and proceeded to eat out of Anders' bowl.

"Anders, don't let Pounce eat out of your bowl," Willow lectured.

"Or on my table, for that matter," Rhiannon added.

"But he's hungry! Don't you listen to them, Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, you are welcome to my food!" Anders cooed. Willow exhaled heavily before running her hand over her hair in desperation.

"Regret giving him the cat yet?" Rhiannon teased.

"Oh you have _no_ idea," Willow responded before giving Anders and incredulous look, he only grinned widely at her.

"Isn't that name a little...ridiculous?" Nathaniel asked Anders.

"What do you think I should call him? Frederick?" Anders responded sardonically.

"There are worse names I suppose, but Maker help your children should you have any," Nathaniel shot back. Willow winced slightly, but tried her best to hide it and continue eating. Anders forced out a chuckle before placing a reassuring hand on Willow's thigh.

"I highly doubt that the mother of Anders' hypothetical future children would allow him to name them based on his cat naming abilities, Nathaniel, so your point is moot," Rhiannon lectured while glancing sideways towards Willow.

Pounce mewed plaintively, causing everyone at the table to change their attention to him.

"You...ate all of my food," Anders said to Pounce, surprised that he was still hungry.

"Maybe that will teach you to listen to me, Anders," Willow shot at him with a light laugh. Anders jokingly pouted at her, but was distracted by Pounce pawing at his bowl and mewing again.

"Maybe you should get yourself another bowl, and get Pounce some food that is_ appropriate_ for a cat?" Rhiannon suggested. "Also, if anyone at the table is still hungry, even if it is only slightly, I highly suggest you eat until you feel like you can't eat anything for a week. Trust me, you don't want to get half way to our destination and feel like your stomach is eating itself." Velanna, Oghren and Nathaniel nodded at Rhiannon before leaving to get a second helping.

Pounce nosed Anders' bowl towards him before mewing again.

"Alright, alright, I'm going,"Anders relented before grabbing his bowl and leaving towards the kitchen. Pounce jumped off of the table and followed him, leaving Willow and Rhiannon alone.

"I know you know," Willow said casually to Rhiannon.

"Know what?" Rhiannon asked innocently, trying to pretend that she didn't know what Willow was talking about.

"Don't play coy Rhiannon. I know you were sitting outside my door when I was talking to Anders last night. I could sense you out there," Willow remarked.

"Fine, you win. I know, and I'm sorry I spied, but why didn't you just tell me before?" Rhiannon asked indignantly.

"I just...didn't want to think about it. We had a blight to defeat and I didn't want to be distracted by something that I couldn't do anything about so I just...pushed it to the back of my mind and didn't think about it," Willow confessed. "I'm sorry," she added without looking at Rhiannon.

Willow suddenly felt her hair being tugged. She turned to Rhiannon who was grinning at her. Willow noticed that the others were entering the room, and that Rhiannon was attempting to cover for her.

"You know, you should put your hair into a bun. A hurlock could easily grab it like this," Rhiannon teased as she continued to tug playfully while making hurlok noises. Willow tried to save her hair, but was failing miserably. Rhiannon chuckled before settling down to braid Willow's long dark auburn locks. "Maker your hair is getting long, you should probably cut it."

"Yeah, maybe," Willow sighed. "Oh for the love of the Creators Anders! Did you not learn anything from the last time you let him share your food?" Willow cried.

"He couldn't possibly eat much more," Anders theorized. "See, he's finishing and is sitting there like a good little kitty." Anders grinned defiantly at Willow, who glared back at him.

"What did you just say?" Velanna snapped at Willow. "Are you _mocking_ me shem?" Rhiannon paused just long enough to shoot a glare over Willow's shoulder at Velanna.

"What? Velanna I don't...oh. Velanna, I'm not mocking you. It's a long story, but basically my mother was Dalish and my father was a human, and as such I was raised to believe in the Creators," Willow responded calmly. "And it was consensual," she added in anticipation of Velanna's next question.

"I...uhm, alright. I'm sorry," Velanna sputtered as she was clearly embarrassed before returning to her food.

"It's alright Velanna, it isn't as if I look Dalish or anything," Willow said with a smile before returning to her own food.

"There! A pretty bun!" Rhiannon beamed in an attempt to diffuse the situation before turning surreptitiously back to her food.

"Do you just carry around random hair pins, Rhia?" Willow asked as she ran her fingers over Rhiannon's handiwork.

"You never know when you'll need hair pins," she responded seriously. Willow rolled her eyes at Rhiannon before picking up her bowl and leaving the table. "Who was it that unlocked your anti-magic bracers in Fort Drakon using hair pins again?" Rhiannon teased.

"You did Rhiannon. You did," Willow exhaled.

"Are you alright?" Rhiannon asked the dwarven woman they had just rescued.

"I'll be fine. I think I may have cracked a rib, but it's hard to be sure. Everything hurts!" She replied.

"Here, I can fix that," Willow said before pouring healing magic into her body. The dwarven woman, who said her name was Sigrun, told them about the Legion of the Dead's failed assault on Kal'Hirol and how she needed to go back and try to do something.

"By yourself? Are you crazy?" Anders lectured. "You wouldn't stand a chance by yourself."

"No I...this is something I have to do," Sigrun replied as she stretched out her sore muscles. "Who are you anyway?"

"We're Grey Wardens. We came here to investigate a darkspawn sighting, luckily for you," Rhiannon responded with a wink.

"It seems the Ancestors favour me today," Sigrun mused to herself. "Well, I don't see how refusing your help is going to do me any favours. Shall we head out?"

"She seems a bit _too_ perky for my liking," Anders whispered to Oghren, who grunted in response.

Willow had thought that she had seen the most frightening things that could ever have existed during the blight. She was wrong. These children made her blood go colder than a winter in The Wilds, and that was even before taking their warped taint into account. She turned to Rhiannon who was pulling one of her swords out one of the children's dead body. Rhiannon looked equally disturbed, and it did little to calm Willow's nerves.

"From the looks on your faces, I take it that these are not _normal_ darkspawn?" Anders asked as he walked up to the rest of the group.

"When are darkspawn _ever_ normal?" Rhiannon responded in an attempt to be cheery. She glanced over at Willow who was helping Sigrun find a side-passage. "Although, these particular darkspawn will be giving some of us nightmares for weeks," she remarked as she turned to Anders with a concerned look.

"I am becoming convinced more and more every day that this is _not_ the right job for Willow," he sighed. "I mean she is _great_ at killing things, but the darkspawn frighten her too much. I'm surprised she hasn't had a nervous breakdown by now." Rhiannon nodded in agreement before opening her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by Sigrun.

"Aha! I found the switch!" Sigrun exclaimed with glee before opening the door.

"Well, let's go and kill some broodmothers," Rhiannon sighed before leading them down into Kal'Hirol.

"Oh _goody_," Anders mumbled before following her.

"Shit," Rhiannon mumbled under her breath as she ran her sword into the childer hatchling. A pain in her side was screaming at her as she continued to kill the grubs and hatchlings. They hadn't been prepared for the second wave of them, and their taint was not something that they were used to sensing. She sliced the hatchling in half before hacking the childer grub in half before it could attack Sigrun. Sigrun quickly thanked her before they quickly moved to assist Oghren, who was swearing at the children as he madly swung his axe at them. Rhiannon smirked at the absurdity of the scene as she danced in and out of the darkspawn while hitting them with measured strikes from her blade until the last childer fell. Rhiannon breathed a sigh of relief, but it was cut short by a loud cry. She ran over towards the noise, only to find Willow pouring, what Rhiannon assumed was as much healing magic as she could muster, into an unconscious, bleeding Anders.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Willow choked out through the sobs. "Don't you _dare_ die on me Anders," she cried at him as she worked as fast as she could to close his wounds.

Rhiannon placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Willow I –," she began.

"Don't touch me!" Willow nearly shrieked as she swatted away Rhiannon's hand with her bloody one. Rhiannon complied before taking a step back. Nobody said anything as Willow frantically tried to revive Anders. Willow paused before pulling out a healing poultice and pouring into Anders' wounds before continuing with her healing magic, while muttering curse words at him. Willow exhaled shakily before removing her bloody hands from his body. She had sufficiently closed his wounds but he still laid there unmoving and barely breathing.

"Come on Anders, you _can't_ die on me now. That's not fair," she sobbed. Rhiannon knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Willow, he's as good as gone... We have to go or else the darkspawn will find us. He wouldn't want that to happen to us...to you," Rhiannon consoled. Willow turned to Rhiannon and the look on her face nearly broke Rhiannon's heart.

"Yeah...okay," she whispered before wiping her face on her dirty arm. Rhiannon gave her a warm smile before standing up. Willow was about to get up before she heard a familiar mew. She snapped her head in the direction of Anders only to see Ser-Pouce-A-Lot purring and rubbing his face on Anders' face. "Oh, Pounce. We have to go," Willow said as wiped her hands on her robes before moving to pick up the kitten. Pounce swatted her hand away before continuing rubbing his face on Anders' face. Willow gave Rhiannon a puzzled look before she heard a loud crackling sound followed by Anders gasping for air. Willow felt Anders gently grab onto her hand before she slowly turned to face him.

"What...just happened?" He asked before looking down and inspecting himself. "These robes are _ruined_." Willow let out a loud, shaky laugh before bursting into tears. "Hey, hey, hey, don't do that. I'm fine, you're fine. Everyone's fine," he cooed as he pulled her to him. Willow burred her face into his chest, not even caring that his tattered robes were going to make her face incredibly dirty.

"You...very nearly died just now," Willow mumbled into his chest. "And Pounce...I don't _know_ what he did, but he did something to bring you back." Willow sat back and looked down at Pounce, who stretched sleepily.

"Wha...Really? See I _knew_ he was useful! I bet you don't regret giving him to me now," Anders charmed. Willow blinked at him before smacking him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for? I very nearly died!"

"That's _exactly_ what that was for," Willow shot at him before shakily standing up and placed her hands on Rhiannon's side to begin healing. Anders chuckled softly before praising Pounce and putting him in his pouch. "Now that you're alive, you can help me heal," she shot as casually as she could at him. Anders chuckled before inspecting Oghren and Sigrun. Fortunately for them they only suffered from minor wounds and were healed quickly.

"Well now that we're quite _finished_ with our near death experiences, we should probably continue on and kill those broodmothers yes?" Rhiannon said after Willow finished healing her. "Unless you need a break, or a lyrium potion, Willow."

"I'll be fine. I just want to get out of here as soon as possible," She replied. Rhiannon raised a speculative eyebrow at her before leading them towards the broodmothers. Anders walked up behind Willow and placed his hand on the small of her back before releasing a rejuvenation spell on her. Willow gasped as she felt a sudden rush of energy that ran through her body. Anders chuckled at her before taking her hand in his and giving her a warm smile, causing her to blush slightly.

"How did you _do_ that?" Rhiannon asked dumbfounded as she stood over top the dead darkspawn.

"Do what? Kill that talking darkspawn mage?" Willow responded as she pulled out a lyrium potion.

"He just...died...almost instantly! I don't remember you being _that_ good."

"I drained so much of his mana that it killed him, basically," Willow stated casually before downing the lyrium potion. "I've always been good with anti-magic spells. That spell was the first one I ever cast actually...poor Marian," she added with a laugh.

"Right...Who's Marian?" Rhiannon asked as she led the team towards the broodmothers.

"Oh, my cousin...well she was the daughter of my father's cousin, to be specific. She is a mage as well and was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of my mana clash. Fortunately our parents were there," Willow laughed, but it was cut short by the horrific smell that started to waft down the corridor.

"Holy Maker, what is that?" Anders asked as he grabbed his nose and made a disgusted noise.

"Broodmothers. They always smell the worst," Sigrun replied seriously. As if on cue tentacles sprung up out of the ground and began attacking them.

"Shit!" Willow yelled before casting a cold spell that froze the tentacles. "We need to deal with these broodmothers _now_."

Everyone agreed.

They battled through the many groups of tentacles before they noticed the chains suspending a lyrium infused boulder over the broodmothers. Willow hit one of the chains with her magic, causing it to snap while Oghren hit another chain. This was enough to drop the boulder on the broodmothers. A bright light filled the room as if it were cleansing the taint from the area as the boulder crushed the broodmothers.

"Well, that was convenient!" Sigrun exclaimed before turning to Rhiannon. "We seem to be caught in the middle of a battle between two factions of darkspawn. I have never seen such a thing. And what about this Mother, or the Architect?"

"Well, we could hope that they will just wipe each other out," Anders stated.

Rhiannon scoffed before addressing Sigrun. "We've met the Architect...he's...interesting, to say the least...So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, continue fighting darkspawn," Sigrun replied.

"You could come with us, we are in dire need of Wardens," Willow chimed in. Anders raised a speculative eyebrow at her, but she blithely ignored it.

"Can you be both part of the Legion and a Grey Warden?" Sigrun asked.

"I don't see why not, you still fight darkspawn and die doing so," Rhiannon replied.

"Huh, and I'll be more effective at killing darkspawn, won't I? Alright, I'll do it!" Oghren perked up considerably when he heard the news, and it caused Willow to grin wickedly.

"We should get out of here...it's dark and heavy down here," Anders squeaked nervously. He had never liked cramped dark spaces. It reminded him too much of his cell in solitary confinement. He looked over at Willow, who had grabbed his hand and was leading him out of that horrid place. At least he had her down here with him.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear. Willow stopped dead in her tracks before wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a passionate kiss on his lips. They were both dirty, covered in blood, and their clothing was torn, but Anders still found this dark and cramped space littered with darkspawn, infinitely better than any templar cell could ever be.


	13. Chapter 13

Willow dropped into her chair while exhaling loudly. Kal'Hirol was stressful, but the situation at the Keep when they returned was even more so. If it was not for Rhiannon's silver tongue, those poor civilians would have probably been killed.

_Hopefully the death of that awful woman will bring the end to the political unrest in Amaranthine_, Willow thought to herself. She glanced over her desk before noticing a tome that was not there before. Willow picked it up and eyed it speculatively. The First Enchanter had sent her _Ines Arancia's Botanical Compendium_ along with a short note informing her that it would be of great use to her. She sighed heavily before taking the book to the library where she had left the rest of her notes.

"Perhaps Ines had some secret in her liner notes? No, that can't be it, she didn't care _that_ much," she muttered to herself before sitting down at her makeshift desk. She looked over her current notes to see if she had previously come upon any information that would imply that herbalism could solve her problem, but she was not finding anything. _I think the old man must have lost his mind,_ she thought to herself before opening the book. After reading through the forward, Willow quickly became to realize that this was not _Ines Arancia's Botanical Compendium_.

It was a book detailing the Rite of Tranquillity.

Willow 's heart leaped into her throat as she continued reading. She was not supposed to have this, only the First Enchanter, and Knight-Commander were allowed to keep it. She pulled some vellum to her before taking out her quill and began to take notes. She was so absorbed in what she was doing, she didn't eve notice Anders standing opposite her.

"What are you reading?" Anders asked, effectively startling Willow. "A bit jumpy are we?"

"Oh, it's you. You probably wouldn't find it very interesting," she lied. Anders raised an eyebrow at her before leaning over the book. Willow tried to slyly prevent him from seeing it, but she failed.

"You...shouldn't have this," Anders said to her before grabbing a chair and sitting at her desk. "Where did you get it?"

"Irving sent it to me. He's rather sneaky," Willow responded before turning the page and continuing to take notes.

"How did he manage to get it out of the tower? I mean, I'm fairly certain that the Chantry won't like this very much." Anders peered over her shoulder to see what she was writing. Willow didn't say anything, but picked up the left side of the book to show him the cover. "Wow, he_ is_ sneaky. Nobody would chance looking in one of Ines' books! They might die of boredom," Anders joked. Willow laughed lightly.

"You know, if you had apprenticed with her, you could have been able to leave the tower without having to run away," Willow shot at him.

"Is it really freedom if you're bored out of your mind with a templar watching? I doubt they would have let me go anyway," Anders replied as he squinted in an attempt to read what she was writing.

"At least you could have pretended you were free. It's a lot easier when you're outside of the tower," Willow sighed. She didn't even bother to look up at Anders, who was still trying to read over her shoulder. "Like now, for example. I find that you're under the impression that just because we're Grey Wardens, we're free."

"But we're Wardens, they can't take us back there without ticking off the entire order," Anders pointed out, "even if they do have our phylacteries." Willow scoffed before reaching into her robes and pulling out a letter and handing it to him.

"The templars are becoming more and more independent from the chantry. They're just doing whatever they want and the chantry isn't doing much to stop them," Willow replied before leaning back in her chair.

"They're making harrowed mages tranquil? That goes against all chantry law!" Anders exclaimed angrily. "How are they getting away with this?"

"The chantry has become incredibly apathetic towards the templar and mage relationship. It's almost like the chantry is a mother telling her two children to 'work it out'. It isn't working out very well for the mages." Willow returned to her note-taking, while Anders sat silently fuming. "Like I said, we're not free."

"Who sent you this letter, and how can they be certain that _harrowed_ mages are being made tranquil?"

"My cousin Marian. She managed to make it to Kirkwall and she thought that she'd update me on her situation. She's had to keep an ear to the ground to stay away from the templars and she came across a disturbing trend of harrowed mages becoming tranquil."

Anders stood up and began to pace angrily. Willow continued her research while waiting for him to calm down. He stopped a few times and began to say something, but he never finished what he was saying. Finally, he sat back down and actually put an earnest effort into reading Willow's notes.

"Is that why you're studying the Rite of Tranquillity? Do you intend to find out how to reverse the process?" Anders asked, still trying to read her notes.

"In part I suppose," she replied before putting her quill down. "I'm actually trying to figure out a way around the rite. Something my mother said to me once has been haunting me lately and I'm wondering if I can elaborate on it." She smiled at Anders who had turned his head sideways in an attempt to grasp what she had written down. "I don't think you'll ever be able to read it, you know," she said to him with a laugh. He exhaled before putting her notes down and looking at her.

"What did your mother say to you, and what could it possibly have to do with the tranquil?" He asked her. He was still angry at the recent news.

"It was when she was explaining to me how magic works. She told me how every living thing in all of the world is connected through the fade, and a mage is able to manipulate the energy that is a result of this connection because they are...more aware of this connection? Does this make sense? It's been so long since she explained it to me that I forget her exact words."

"I think I see what you're saying?" Anders replied, although he was still quite confused.

"Alright...Think of it as if everybody's soul contains doors to the fade and the more open doors you have the more you can understand and feel the connection to other living things. Some people just have more open doors than other people, and as a result they can do magic. When the templars make a mage tranquil, they shut all of the doors and cut off the mage completely, but what if we found a way to shut only the necessary doors."

"Ah, I see what you're saying. That way the mages can still actually have a life and emotions, but not have magic. Do you think that the chantry would agree to this? Or the templars, for that matter."

"Well, if this _does_ work then it can't be helped if it's leaked to every tower, and causes a bit of a rebellion. Unless they wanted to annul all of the circles, then complying would be the best option...hopefully." Willow closed the book and looked up at Anders pensively. "Irving, Greagoir and I have been working on something that we feel will make the circle safer and more bearable for the mages. We just need to work a few things out...such as the Rite of Tranquillity. However, for it to work completely there needs to be an attitude shift towards mages."

"What did you have in mind?" Anders asked her seriously.

"I suggested that the circle be decentralized and be made into an institution of knowledge instead of a prison, and that the mages are to govern themselves. That way when a mage has to go to the circle they won't have to leave their families behind and will be able to see them on a regular basis, which will make the transition easier," Willow winced at Anders' expression as he remembered being taken away from his mother. He didn't talk about her much, but Willow knew that leaving her was incredibly traumatic on both ends. "I also suggested that mages shouldn't have to live in the circle when their training is complete unless they wish to stay and teach. What I hope to accomplish is to allow mages to live their own lives just like any _normal_ person would." Willow reached out for Anders' hand and locked her fingers in his. "It probably won't happen soon, but I just want our children to be safe and not have to hide from or be afraid of templars," Willow confessed. Anders squeezed her hand gently before giving her a warm smile.

"So...what of the templars then? Where do they fit in?" He asked earnestly.

"Oh, well Greagoir confessed to me that the reason why templars need to take the lyrium is because it enables them to sense magic, but even then it is never one hundred percent accurate. However, mages have the ability to sense magic, and can even tell who the mage is, if they are good enough. So part of the plan is to slowly faze out the need for templars, which would begin by never giving new recruits lyrium, and possibly wean the current templars off of it...but the latter might never happen," Willow responded pensively.

"You can tell who cast a spell by just _feeling_ it?" He asked bewildered. "How did you manage that?"

"Remember when we were talking about doors to the fade? I have more open doors than the average mage, but any mage can do it if they concentrate hard enough. Here, I'll show you," she said as she got up. Willow led Anders over to the fireplace and urged him to sit down across from her. "Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath and calm yourself." Anders rolled his eyes at her. "Just do it!" She said seriously.

"Fine," Anders sighed before doing as he was told. He could feel Willow smirking at him before she took his hands in hers.

"Now you're going to concentrate on your connection to the fade while I run magic through our bodies," she instructed carefully. "You should feel a difference from your own magic."

"Okay," he sighed before concentrating. Once he began concentrating, Willow started flowing her magic between them. Anders inhaled sharply when he felt Willow's magic flow into him. Willow smirked at him before concentrating on her own magic. "Stop smirking at me. I was just surprised," Anders shot at her.

"Shh! You should be concentrating!" She laughed before flooding Anders with more magic. Anders furrowed his brow in concentration before he began to feel the warmth of Willow's magic flowing between them and around them as it was filling up his entire body. It felt strange to him to have something other than himself become part of his very being. However at the same time Willow's warm, calming essence was comforting and he just wanted to get lost in the feeling of her. He was quickly losing his focus and was about to lose himself and melt away into the flow of Willow's magic before he was hit with a massive amount of energy that overloaded his senses. Anders completely forgot about what he was doing as he curled himself into an upright foetal position.

He could feel the determination of the mice as they scurried in the walls.

He could feel the rain hitting the ground and the wind blowing in the trees and the grass.

He could feel the heat of the fire burning throughout his body.

Everything around him felt alive and a part of him and it frightened him, but at the same time he felt invigorated. He did not feel himself, but rather he felt like he was everything at once. He paused for a moment before realizing that he could not feel Willow independently from everything else. He looked quickly over to her before grabbing her with trembling hands before planting a searing kiss on her lips. Willow was surprised at his sudden forcefulness. Willow broke the kiss, but before she could compose herself Anders flooded her with a rejuvenation spell that spread hotly and quickly throughout her body before claiming her mouth again with his. Willow had to bite back a moan as she fought off the lovely tingling that was focusing on her most intimate parts. This was a spell that Anders used often in their racy endeavours, however the sheer power of this particular spell was never so great as it was now. Willow was afraid that he might not realize what she had done and hurt her as a result. She had to fight her need for Anders' magical touch as she broke the kiss and hit him with a minor cold spell before pining him to the ground. The cold shock was enough to bring Anders back to reality.

"Oh Maker," he began, "did I hurt you?" He tried to sit up as he spoke, but Willow would not let him.

"No you didn't hurt me, Anders, I just need to explain something to you so that you don't accidentally hurt anyone." Willow was deadly serious and it frightened Anders.

"Y-Y-You did something to me?" He started, "What did you..." He was beginning to panic.

"Shhh, shh, shh. It's alright," she cooed before sitting back and allowing Anders to sit upright. "I didn't do anything_ incredibly_ drastic. I just opened another door. What you're feeling now is something that was always there...you just didn't have the ability to feel it to its full extent. Even what you're feeling now isn't the full extent."

"Wait...so you used me as a lab rat?" He shouted. "You wanted to see if you could open and close these _doors_ willy nilly?"

"No no no no. I mean, that is a bonus, but my main goal was to share this amazing feeling with you," she pleaded. "This is how I feel every day," she added softly as she placed her hand on his stubbly cheek. There was sincerity in her voice and the way she was pleading at him with her soft green eyes made his anger melt away.

"So what does this have to do with me hurting someone accidentally?" Anders pulled Willow to him and rested his head on hers.

"Because your connection to the fade is more concrete, your spells are a lot more powerful and you will find you have a lot more energy and mana. From the severity of the spell you cast on me earlier you did not realize this," Willow stated flatly as she snuggled closer to Anders. "Also, since you can now feel the energy of everything differently you can use their connection to the fade to fuel your magic if you're in a bit of a bad spot," she instructed as she reached into the fire.

"Willow don't! You'll...hurt...yourself," he said softly as she pulled out a flame that began to dance around her hand.

"Right now I am using the fire's energy to fuel my magic." She looked up at Anders who was still looking confused. "The fire and I have become one being, in other words," she elaborated before pressing the flame into Anders' chest. Anders groaned as he felt the warmth spread through his body.

"I see," he exhaled before wrapping his arms around Willow tightly.

"Do you want to know something interesting about fire energy?" Willow provoked.

"What?" Anders responded before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"It is tied very closely to healing magic...which is why I'm surprised that you are not very good at fire magic," Willow laughed.

"You made that up," Anders stated, he was clearly hurt by Willow's statement.

"I did not! It's something that the Dalish realized. The Goddess Sylaise, who is the Goddess my mother's line venerated specifically, is the Goddess of fire, healing, childbirth and the making of clothing. Fire isn't just something that gives life; it _is_ life."

Anders began to say something, but was interrupted by someone bursting into the library. Out of habit, Anders and Willow separated quickly and tried to look busy.

"..._My lady._ Who does he think he is?" They heard Rhiannon shout to herself. "I _knew_ I should not have let them be alone together."

Willow turned to Anders, who was trying to stifle a laugh, before trying to compose herself.

"Who are you talking about Rhia?" Willow asked as innocently as possible.

"W-What? Oh...nothing, never mind me... I'll uh...I'll just be going, clearly you two are busy doing _something_," she spat out quickly before quickly rushing out of the room. Willow and Anders exchanged confused looks before returning to work.

Rhiannon closed her bedroom door behind her before resting on it. She exhaled loudly before slumping to the ground.

"I am no longer _fifteen_. I am their commander. I should not be jealous of a simple gesture of respect," she began to tell herself. "...Even if there is a _slight_ chance of there being flirtatious undertones." Rhiannon groaned loudly before allowing her forehead to fall to her knees. "Fergus wouldn't approve of me being like this...especially over Nathaniel." Rhiannon sat for a while before remembering what she over heard. "_My lady_!" she shouted to herself before punching the ground. The way those three syllables rolled off his tongue suggested nothing other than a flirtatious jest.

Rhiannon was shaking. She wasn't sure if it was because she was mad at Nathaniel or at herself for being so silly. "Considering the assassination attempt today, this should be the least of my worries," she whispered to herself. Her hand was screaming at her, and she was so emotionally exhausted that she just wanted to break down into tears and have her parents tell her that everything will be alright. Rhiannon was torn from her wallowing by a soft knock on the door. She moved away from it quickly before the person on the other side began to open it.

"Rhia...I brought some of my _special_ tea," Willow said softly. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

Rhiannon looked up at Willow from the floor, screwing up her face in order to prevent herself from crying.

Her attempts at keeping a straight face failed. She began to sob loudly while trying to explain to Willow why she was acting so strangely. Willow sat down beside Rhiannon on the floor and poured them some tea, and listened to Rhiannon's problems way into the night.


	14. Chapter 14

"I think that you need to slow down and take time for yourself," Willow suggested as she poured Rhiannon another cup of tea. "You and Alistair started your relationship rather hastily and now that he's gone, maybe you're just trying to fill another hole?" Rhiannon shot Willow an insulted look. "Now don't look at me like that. I'm not trying to suggest that you didn't love Alistair. I know you did, and I know he loved you. Marrying Anora was not easy for him at all... Is that what this is all _really_ about?"

Rhiannon looked down at the floor. "I just...I just miss him _so_ much Willow. I thought I had moved past this, but I just can't seem to. He brought out the best in me and he trusted me completely and I...I betrayed him. I don't even know why I suggested that he marry her." Rhiannon buried her face in her hands before letting out a sob.

Willow pulled Rhiannon to her and placed Rhiannon's head on her chest. "Shhh, it's going to be fine. You suggested they got married because you knew it was the right thing to do for the country. You have given up a lot for Ferelden and I think that Alistair realizes why you did what you did. You should take time for you and figure out your emotions before getting involved emotionally with anyone."

Rhiannon nodded slowly before snuggling closer to Willow. "You'd be a great mother," Rhiannon whispered as she pulled away from Willow. "Oh Maker, my problems probably seem so trivial compared to yours." Rhiannon wiped her face with her sleeve. "If you need me to do anything. Anything at all to help you just ask me. I'd even blow the Chantry up if it would help."

Willow gave her a warm smile and chuckled. "I don't think it will come to that, but thank you." Rhiannon gave her a warm smile.

"I should go now though, Anders is probably still waiting for me. He and I have...things we need to discuss." Willow gave Rhiannon one last hug before leaving her room.

Rhiannon sighed as she laid in bed and recalled the last conversation she had with Alistair before the fight with the arch demon.

"_Alistair," Rhiannon said in a surprisingly soft tone._

"_What. Do. You. Want?" There was venom in his voice now and he meant for it. He intended to inflict as much pain on her as she had done on him just moments earlier._

"_I wanted to talk," she paused as he raised his eyebrow._

"_About what? Are you here to congratulate me on my _engagement_?" Rhiannon flinched from the emphasis he put on engagement._

"_No," she kept her tone soft, even though she wanted to scold him for being childish. "I wanted to talk about...us." Alistair opened his mouth but Rhiannon continued. "I mean...it may be a foolish question to ask right now... considering what I've just done."_

"_You are correct. It is a foolish question. I cannot even bear look at you right now," Alistair paused for a moment for fear of completely losing his temper on her. "You came here to talk about us, did you. Well there is no us anymore. There is only me and the woman who let Duncan's murderer live!" Rhiannon winced. "Wait I'm sorry, that didn't come out right." Rhiannon gained her composure and looked him right in the eye. Alistair was frightened of her smouldering brown eyes for a moment._

"_Do you think that that was an easy decision on my part, Alistair? Loghain did more to me than letting Duncan die." Rhiannon stopped to take a deep breath while Alistair looked at her in confusion and opened his mouth as if to speak, but he decided not to for fear that Rhiannon would verbally cut him to pieces._

"_He allowed my family to be murdered. I mean, he had to be behind it. If Cailin died, and my father knew that Loghain had pulled out...or even my mother for that matter, they would have led an incredible resistance against him. So, of course the Couslands had to be out of the way, otherwise he would not be able to become king. So do not think that I don't understand what you're feeling Alistair Therin!" She spat out his name as if it were poison._

"_Then why wouldn't you take revenge? Why wouldn't you kill him to avenge your family?" Alistair moved to her and grabbed her hard by her arms and stared into her eyes with a fury that rivalled her own._

"_Because," she said with her voice and eyes softening, "I do not think that Riordan is telling us everything. He knows, just as we do, what Loghain did to to Duncan and the Grey Wardens. He was even Duncan's friend for Andraste's sake!" Alistair shot her a quizzical look. "If Riordan thought it important for Loghain to undergo the Joining, then he must know something that you and I do not." Alistair was speechless for a moment._

"_S-so you allowed him to live on a hunch? Y-y-you... I don't even know what to say to you right now." _

_Rhiannon looked up at Alistair defiantly and said, "say nothing. I came here to find out where you and I stand. However, it seems that you and I do not stand at all. Now if you'll please let go of me I must go to Redcliffe. Your highness." Alistair let her go and motioned to the door._

"_Well it seems that you have things to attend to," He replied as cordially as possible. Rhiannon nodded and left the room briskly with her head held high._

Rhiannon kicked off her boots before sneaking under the covers. She didn't even care that she was still fully clothed. She just wanted to sleep and forget that this day happened.

* * *

Willow returned to her room only to see Anders reading a letter that was probably addressed to her while snuggling with Pounce.

"Are you going to make this a habit Anders? Do I need to get everyone to send me my mail in code?" Willow joked as she curled up beside him. "Who is it from anyway?"

"The king. Apparently whatever you gave Anora helped with their fertility issue, however the queen's health is deteriorating and the king wants you to go to Denerim and make her healthy again." His voice was distant and scratchy. Willow sat up and removed the letter from his hands and tossed it to the side before moving his face to meet hers.

"What's wrong? Are you unwell? It is very unlike you to be this distant, Anders," Willow said as she searched his face for some kind of answer. Anders gave her a weak smile before planting a soft kiss on her left hand.

"I'm frustrated," he sighed. "I'm tired of running, hiding, scheming and planning escapes simply because I can light someone on fire with my mind. I'm tired of us being feared and only let out to kill darkspawn or healing the bleeding Queen, only to be thrown back into confinement again." Anders let out a frustrated sigh before staring intently into the fire. Willow wrapped her arms around Anders and placed her forehead on his back.

"How long have you been running Anders? You make it sound as if that's all you've done."

"Longer than I care to think, my dear. Longer than I care to think," Anders sighed before turning around slowly in order to face Willow. The concern in her eyes was almost heartbreaking. "You have had to deal with far too much melancholy today. It is probably best we go to sleep." Anders placed a kiss on Willow's forehead before pulling away from her. He was hiding something from her and she was not about to allow it to be buried somewhere she would never reach it.

"Anders talk to me please. You need to talk about this... it's eating at you. I know I'm not really the one who is a shining example here, but trust me. It helps." Willow reached up and smoothed out a rogue piece of Anders' hair. He tried to hide the haunted look in his eyes like the old days, but Willow's touch made it hard to pretend he was fine. Anders relented with a sigh before giving Willow a weak smile.

"Well, I'm from the Anderfels as if my nickname didn't tell you," he began attempting to be lighthearted.

"Well that's a relief! I was hoping that you were not unfortunate enough to be named after an entire race of people," Willow jested in an attempt to keep up the mood. Anders smiled at her.

"It was a nickname the Ferelden children gave me after we moved to Lothering when I was about six or seven. We were the only family not from Ferelden in Lothering and we... stood out. It also didn't help that I was smaller than all of the other children and they were not very nice about it." Anders face fell slightly as he spoke about the other children.

"Then why did you keep it? What is your real name? Is it that ridiculous?" Willow snuggled closer to him hoping that her presence would make him feel better.

"I found strength in the name. My father told me that I should be proud to be an Anders, so it just stuck I suppose." Anders could hear his father's voice ringing in his ears as if he was standing in the room. _Be proud of who you are son. The Anders have survived two blights and are still going strong. Be proud to be a part of that heritage._ Anders smiled at his father's words. "Also, my name is kind of ridiculous and let's leave it at that," Anders looked at her with a smile as he finished speaking. Willow rolled her eyes.

"It can't be worse than_ Delany_. Marian used to tease me for it all of the time. Anyway, we're getting off topic. Please continue," Willow urged with a soft nudge. Anders chuckled lightly before continuing.

"Well, we were fine farmers. After you learn how to turn a crop in the Anderfels, you can turn a crop anywhere. I suppose it was a bit boring, but it turns out if you're quiet enough the Templars don't look twice at you. My father taught me how to use my powers effectively and how to keep them hidden. I was fortunate enough I suppose to have someone who could teach me how to use my magic. Most of us don't get that."

"We should count ourselves lucky, I suppose. It's frustrating though, having these powers and not being able to use them without getting caught. You can't help those in need, you can't even help yourself really." Willow let out a frustrated groan before lying down on her side of the bed. The absence of her body heat made Anders feel cold.

"When I was fourteen my father fell very ill," he continued as he moved closer to Willow with the hopes that she was warm him. "I came in from the village and my father was not out in the field, which was strange. I went inside and he was in bed. He telling my mother he was going to be fine and that it was only a chest cold. 'I'm an Anders!' He'd say, 'I can still work like this! Let me out of this damnable bed!' My mother and I were helpless and the illness just burned through him. He died very shortly after." Willow understood what that was like far too well. Tears began to fall as the pain of the death of her parents resurfaced. She shook them away. This was about Anders, not her. She felt Anders brush some stray tears away with his thumb. She looked up at him with a smile before moving closer to him. "My mother frantically began to pack our things and practically gave the farm to a new family that had just arrived. She said that they looked as tired and travel weary as we did when we arrived and that we had enough money saved up to move to Highever. I had no love for Lothering, but I was still sad to leave all the same. It was safe, and now we were leaving for Highever." Anders paused for a moment. He needed to regain his composure for what he was about to say next.

"It's alright Anders. Take your time. I am in no hurry," Willow cooed as she traced the patterns on his robe with her finger. Anders placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling her close to him.

"We were caught by the Templars on the road. Apparently a group of Templars from the Anderfels had been searching for us since we left. They locked me in anti-magic bracers and arrested my mother." His voice cracked slightly as he spoke, but he continued anyway. "I think they took her back to the Anderfels, or maybe to Aeonar. Either way, I doubt she survived. Hiding mages earns you a hanging in the Anderfels." Tears began to well up in his eyes as he remembered his mother screaming at the Templars in both Anders and Ferelden. She fought them off as best she could to save him, but she was not a match for five Templars. It had been a long silent trip to Kinloch Hold. He didn't trust himself to speak, and the Templars probably didn't want to hear what he had to say anyway. He had refused to cry.

He was an Anders.

The Anders don't cry in the face of adversity.

His father's words rang in his ears over and over again. It wasn't helping him hold back his tears this time. He couldn't bear the sound of his ugly sobs, but they just kept coming.

Willow had never seen Anders like this before. He was always was the one making her feel better. She didn't have any idea what to do for him. She felt a surge of selfishness run through her and it made her feel sick. She reached out and pulled him to her. It was the only thing she could think to do. His sobs vibrated through her body making her feel helpless. Willow wanted to wrap her whole body around his and absorb his pain, but she was far too small. Anders' sobs stopped after what seemed like an eternity. He looked up at Willow slowly. She was far too wonderful to have ever been locked away. How could he have let them do that to her.

"I am so sorry. I should have let you go to your family in Lothering... I.. I should have left. They never would have found you. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I should have played by their rules. Nobody would have been hurt then." He felt so defeated. As long as the chantry had his phylactery he would never be free. If they wanted to drag him back to the circle, they would always find him. They can always find Willow.

He would always be running.

They would always be running.

"No, Anders," Willow said sternly, yet there was kindness in her voice. "You should not have played by the rules."

"What?"

"Do you know why the chantry detests mages like you?"

"Because I give the other mages ideas."

"In part. Your refusal to submit to their rules reminds the other mages that you are a person, that they are people. You remind the chantry that you are a person who deserves to be treated as such, that they have no right to lock you away because you have the ability to manipulate the energy around you. They take away from us until we submit to them, but if we never submit we inspire others. They are afraid of what we'll do to them if we rise up and we all say: _enough_. There is so much anxiety built around what we _might_ do to them, that they make us tranquil, brand us maleficar – true or not – and execute us. But do you know who they fear more than us?"

"The Chantry fears someone more than mages?" Anders found that very hard to believe.

"The Templars. Not all of the Templars hate us. Most of them are forced to become Templars the same way we were forced to go to the circle. They see what we go through every day and they might develop sympathy for us, so the Chantry controls them with lyrium. Since the Chantry controls the lyrium trade, they control the Templars."

Anders' heart swelled with affection for Willow. She was right of course; she was always right.

Her words inspired him. He gazed into her smiling eyes. There was a deep, old magic swimming behind them. Something flashed across her green orbs before she claimed his mouth with her own. Anders returned the kiss with a force that rivalled Willow's. He pulled her to him wanting to feel every curve of her body pressed up against his.

The chantry was not going to take from him any more.

* * *

Sorry about the almost year long delay. Anyway, here's a new chapter and I hope to keep up this time. Hopefully Bioware won't throw wrenches into my plan again.


	15. Chapter 15

The wind whipped through her feathers as she sped through the air, determined to reach her destination.

The other birds were quiet and hiding in the trees, huddling together, trying to keep out of the rain. She could feel their eyes staring at her from the dark, hooded trees, wondering what she was doing out in the rain.

She must have been a strange, solitary sight.

It didn't matter to her; the sooner she arrived, the sooner she could go home.

Home.

Did she have one? It had been so long. Did she finally have one again, unconventional as it may be.

A gust of wind jostled her, breaking her from her train of thought. She beat her black wings hard in an attempt to fight the wind and find a compatible current.

She couldn't find one.

The storm was becoming too difficult to navigate, but Denerim was in sight.

Perhaps she could still make it.

She dove down close to the ground, hoping that the wind wouldn't be as difficult down there. The rain was falling so hard that it splashed back up and hit her after it hit the ground, but the wind wasn't as strong. Her wings were screaming at her as she flew up over the city walls and aimed for the castle. She was hoping to get to the study window before she collapsed.

The wind screamed around her before it blew her into the wall near the castle gates.

Her magic gave out as she fell to the ground; a bale of hay broke her fall, fortunately.

Willow chuckled at the absurd situation to herself as she pulled herself out of the hay. Anders would never have let her live this one down.

Perhaps the castle guards would be kinder. They were speechless as she picked pieces of hay off of herself.

"Oh...uhm. Hello," she said to them, attempting to retain some composure. "I'm here to see the king. My name is Willow Amell." She handed them a summons with the king's seal.

"Y-ye-yes of course," the guard on the right said as he took the summons. He was clearly afraid of her. "I'll let you in. The king mentioned you'd be arriving today." He opened the door behind him and gestured for her to follow him. "Please, this way." Willow did as she was told, and was quickly passed off to an elven servant who promptly led her to a guest room. Willow surveyed the castle as she followed the servant. The castle had changed a lot since her last visit.

"The king is in a meeting at the moment. Would you like me to run a bath for you in the meantime? You must be...cold," the elven girl asked. Alistair had expected her in the early evening, but it was only the early afternoon.

"Oh, no thank you. Just a washing basin would suffice. I'm more wet than anything," Willow replied earnestly as she put her bag down.

"As you wish," the servant girl said as she left the room.

Willow walked to the mirror and began picking out pieced of hay from her hair. She hoped that Rhiannon wouldn't be too angry with her for leaving without much notice. Anders was more than capable at performing her job while she was away, and she didn't expect to be gone for much longer than a fortnight. _Although if Wynne couldn't help her_, Willow thought to herself, _I might be here for much longer than that_. She sighed softly as she reached for her comb.

Hopefully that would not be the case. She belonged in Amaranthine with the Wardens, not in Denerim with the nobles. Willow combed the last piece of hay out of her hair before she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Here's your washing basin...uh..."

"Willow. Call me Willow please." She smiled at the girl as she took the basin from her. "What is your name?"

"Thank you, Willow. My name is Lilly. I will come and collect you when the king is ready to see you. Until then."

Willow dismissed Lilly before setting the basin down. She opened the wardrobe and inspected the robes that Wynne must have put there for her. She pulled out the most suitable one and placed it on the bed before stepping out of her wet and dirty one. A chill ran through her body, causing her to regret her decision regarding the bath. She quickly washed herself before pulling on the new robe and lighting a fire in the fireplace with the hopes that it would warm her. A warm orange glow filled the room, causing Willow to relax slightly. She was suddenly very tired. The flight to Denerim has not been an easy one and she could feel the toll it was taking on her. She could hear Anders' voice from earlier that morning.

"_You are _not_ going to make it to Denerim before the storm blows in, Willow. You may as well just stay here until it's over," He said to her from the bed. _

"_If I fly fast enough I can, but I have to leave now. I do not have time to argue." She tossed the last few things she needed into the bag. _

_Anders sighed as he threw the blankets off of himself. Willow gasped as Anders sneaked up behind her and pulled her to him. He was still naked and was so warm, Willow felt as if she could just melt into him._

"_You don't really want to leave me do you? We should go back to bed. It's cold out here, and I have some _wonderful_ ways to keep warm." He brushed his lips against her neck, prompting her to turn around. _

"_Anders _please_ stop," she whispered, but she didn't remove herself from his embrace. "I have to do this and I just want it over. If this turns out for the better, it could help our cause a lot." _

_Anders exhaled heavily before placing a kiss on her forehead and letting go of her. "Fine. I understand... I just don't want something bad to happen." _

"_I'll be careful, Anders. I don't expect to be gone long enough to get into trouble... Besides, Alistair wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. I'll be back before you know it." Willow planed a kiss on Anders' lips before opening the window. A rush of cold air burst in causing them both to shiver. "I love you," she said softly with a smile. _

"_I love you too." He pulled her face to his and gave her a loving kiss. "Please be careful, and hurry back."_

"_Well I'll have to hurry back. I'm excited to keep warm with you," Willow smirked before shape shifting into a raven and flying off._

Willow wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself. _What I wouldn't give to curl up to your warm body, Anders. _She thought to herself, but realized she should get some work done. She pulled out her notes and _The Rite of Tranquillity_. Her research was almost done, which meant that she could begin writing the proposal. Things were moving faster than she had anticipated, and it excited her. As she opened the book she found a note that she had not written.

_Willow,_

_I took the liberty of going through this dull, Maker forsaken book and marked the relevant passages for you. There was not a lot of information pertaining to what you're looking for, but I did find some things. Good Luck._

_Love,_

_Anders_

Willow smiled as she flipped through the book and scanned Anders' notes. She sat down on the bed and put the book on the bedside table. "Perhaps I'll get some sleep before meeting Alistair then," she said to herself before pulling the blankets up over herself. The warmth of the bed enveloped her, causing her to fall asleep instantly.

She slept a peaceful, dreamless sleep. A soft, yet firm knock on her door woke her from her dreamless sleep. She quickly got out of bed and fixed her hair before opening the door.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Lilly's soft voice greeted her, "but the king would like you to meet him for supper in his study."

"It's already supper?" Willow asked as her stomach growled. She realized then that she had not eaten anything since breakfast. "I suppose we should not keep him waiting then." Willow followed Lilly out of her room to Alistair's study in silence, save for Willow's stomach grumbling.

Lilly stopped in front of a door before knocking. Willow heard Alistair's voice asking them to come in before Lilly opened the door. "Willow, Your Highness," she stated politely before curtseying.

"Thank you Lilly. You may leave," Alistair responded as a king should. Willow smirked at the personality change. "What are _you_ smirking at?" He asked Willow with a laugh after Lilly excused herself.

"Oh, nothing, it's just strange. You giving commands. I still remember when you first joined the Wardens and all you wanted to do for the first few months was the fade into the background and follow orders." Alistair smiled at her, but there was a tired look in his eyes.

"Please sit and eat. I imagine you are rather hungry."

"Why yes, _Your Highness_," Willow joked as she sat down and helped herself to the bounty of food that was prepared for them. It had been a long time since she had even seen food this delicious, and she was not going to let this go to waste. They ate in silence, as it was clear that Alistair was just as hungry as she was.

"So," Willow began as she pushed her plate away from her, "what is the problem, exactly, and how far along is she? Your letter was rather vague."

Alistair's expression darkened. "She's twenty weeks along." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I...really couldn't tell you what's wrong with her, to be honest. Anora has just become incredibly weak and exhausted. She can't even get out of bed anymore... This isn't because of..."

"No. It's not a result of the taint. There were some men who fathered children while they were Wardens and their...partners were perfectly fine during their pregnancies. This just happens to some women, Alistair. There is a high chance that this won't last through the pregnancy, but I'll have to see her for myself." Willow suddenly wished that Anders was with her. He had much more experience with pregnant women of this sort than she did.

"Well I suppose you'll just have to see her then. I'll take you to her myself... she's been a little touchy with the servants lately." He rose from his chair and led her to Anora.

"Anora," Alistair said softly as he opened the door to the royal chambers. "Willow is here to see you."

"_Inspect_ me, you mean," she spat. Her belly looked much larger than Willow expected it to be, and that worried her.

Alistair sighed. "Anora, please. She's here to help you. Try to be calm." Anora only rolled her eyes.

Willow squeezed Alistair's arm gently before prompting him to leave. Willow waited until Alistair left the room before turning to Anora.

"So, have you eaten anything today? From what I understand, you're still feeling nauseous, which is making eating a chore," Willow stated nervously as she moved to the chair seated next to the bed for her.

"Not _enough_, I've been told," Anora glowered.

"Well your tongue hasn't been affected, so you can't be in nearly as bad of shape as everyone thinks you are." Willow placed a hand over Anora's stomach and allowed her magic to flow, hoping she'd find something that was easy to fix. "Are you in pain? I'm checking for tears or sores in your stomach. Not eating regularly can cause them, which then makes eating almost impossible." Willow was silent as she continued searching, but it did not take her long to find what she was looking for.

"Yes, I'm in pain."

"Well, that's not surprising. You have a few small sores, but it's nothing that can't be fixed promptly." Willow quickly healed the sores before sitting back in her chair. "Are you hungry? Eating shouldn't be a problem now."

"Not really, but I haven't eaten since this morning." Anora's stomach rumbled slightly, causing her to blush.

"Alright, well I'll get you something to eat." Willow told the servant outside of the room to bring some food before turning her attention back to Anora. "It shouldn't take long for food to arrive... I suspect everyone is anxious... Now let's see what all of the fuss _really_ is about. I don't think I'd be called here simply for stomach sores." Willow placed her hands on Anora's swollen belly and concentrated on the baby. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but then Willow noticed the second baby. Everything about the first baby was normal, but she could feel the fade running through the second baby. This second baby had the same connection to the fade that her children did while she was pregnant. Willow removed her hands and gave Anora a smile. "Everything seems fine, but I'll have to speak with Wynne and see what she found exactly before I can make a final decision," she lied. She didn't want to worry her when she was in such a fragile state. Fortunately for Willow, a servant came with some food. Willow reached into her bag and pulled out a pouch that she didn't realize was in there as the servant girl put down a bowl of stew. There was a note attached to the pouch for Willow from Anders.

_Willow,_

_If it is what I think it is, then put a pinch of this in the Queens food. It will help give her back lost energy._

_Love,_

_Anders_

Willow opened the pouch and smelled the powder. From what she could tell it was crushed elfroot that was treated with lifestone powder. She took the stew from Anora and mixed in some of the powder before handing it back to her. Anora shot her a confused look before eating. Willow excused herself, and met Alistair outside of the bedchamber. Alistair gave her a look that told her he already knew what she was going to say.

"I need to speak to Wynne, preferably with you there," Willow stated quietly with the hopes that Anora wouldn't hear her.

"Of course, I already have her waiting for us in the study... I was afraid you were going to come to the same conclusion. Follow me."

"So, I'm assuming you came to the same conclusion," Wynne stated as Willow and Alistair walked through the door.

"Yes, but even if it is the case, it'll take a few years for the magic to manifest. The main question is... does Anora know? Does she know she's even having twins? She does not seem to," Willow asked, hoping she wasn't correct.

"No...on both accounts," Alistair replied. "We didn't want to worry her unless it was necessary... Eamon suggests for her sake we –."

"Don't you dare even _finish_ that _suggestion_," Willow spat. "How could you even think to do that to your wife? Do you honestly think you could keep the secret anyway?" Willow was furious. She could not believe Alistair of all people would allow such a suggestion.

"You and I both know how painful it is to loose a child at birth; now imagine loosing your child after having three to five years with them," Wynne said trying to clam her down. "You especially..."

"Yeah, you all _lied_ to me to make me _feel better_. I know that my children are alive and in the chantry in Amaranthine," Willow fumed. Wynne looked surprised and was unsure what to say. "Don't look so surprised Wynne, It was only a matter of time before I found out... But this isn't about me; this is about Anora. Do you actually expect her to believe that she is either not having twins, or that one of them died? She will find out sooner rather than later." Willow stopped by the window and was quiet for a while.

Neither Wynne nor Alistair said anything to her, or each other.

"I would have come to terms with the fact that I was not allowed to have my children with me," Willow started. Her voice was quiet and she sounded as if something had broken inside of her, "but having to come to terms with that now. Now that I know they are alive and haven't been with me, that I had to be _lied_ to for whatever reason. It's not easy."

"Well what do you suggest I do? What am I going to tell her! What am I going to do when the Templars come and drag off our child?" Alistair fumed. "I'm sorry that you lost your children Willow, but you _knew_ that it would happen before you got pregnant."

Willow was too angry to say anything. She was clenching her fists so hard her fingernails dug into her palms and her knuckles turned white.

"Alistair, calm down," Wynne's calm voice filled the room. "What about what you've been working on, Willow?"

Willow bit her lower lip and stared out the window. "I'm not certain I can do anything during this stage of the pregnancy... But once the child is born I can almost certainly do something then. If I can't then, I can if the child begins showing a propensity for magic." Willow suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. It took everything in her power not to fall over.

"_What_ will you do, and will it even work?" Alistair was still clearly upset. Willow didn't blame him; unlike Anora he was unfortunate enough to know about the second child.

"Everyone has the capacity to perform magic as a result of our connection to the fade. A mage's connection is simply stronger as a result of having more doors to the fade open. There are seven in total. So, all I would do is close the extra doors. I've yet to close doors, but I've recently found that I can open them, and closing them must not be much harder." The situation made Willow furious. Why was magic such a bad thing? She knew the answer even before she asked herself the question, but she was far too exhausted to think about this.

"I see, so I guess this worrying is for nothing then," Alistair replied looking incredibly relieved. After a moment of silence he continued. "Is this the second part of your plan then? After we finish cutting the circle's ties to the chantry, I mean... Which we need to talk about, by the way."

"Problems, I take it?" Willow sighed. She didn't dare look at Wynne's face. Her opinions on the matter were not unknown, and it was only a matter of time before she voiced them again. "You didn't expect to have this go over smoothly, did you?"

"No, actually, there aren't any problems... well not anymore. Irving and Greagoir have convinced the Grand Cleric, due in no small part to you putting down the mage rebellion during the blight, that the mages here have shown that they are able to control themselves. Although in a way the Ferelden circle is going to be watched even more intently. A lot of people will want this to fail."

"Yes, I know. We can't let them into our heads." Willow sat down, hoping they couldn't tell how exhausted she was. "Was that all there was to talk about?"

"Irving wants you to become First Enchanter," Wynne stated coolly. "He is getting old, and since this was your idea, he feels that you are the best candidate."

Willow was silent for a moment. She had never thought she would return to the circle, especially to become the First Enchanter. "But...what about the taint? I only have roughly twenty-eight years left before my calling. Even then, I've heard of Wardens getting their Calling much earlier. I'm not stable enough to support the mages, or the circle as required."

"You'll live long enough to set up what you've started," Wynne lectured. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and rest for a while."

Willow was silent after Wynne left. It frustrated her that Wynne didn't understand why she was pushing for an independent circle, although it didn't surprise her. Wynne's whole life was at the circle, and she did not want to disrupt something that she felt was necessary.

"I'm sorry for what I said about your children," Alistair apologized softly, breaking the silence in the room. "I was just...so worried about my own future children and my wife. It was wrong of me. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you."

"It's alright. I understand... I just miss them a lot. I didn't even get to see them before they were taken from me. There is a lingering emptiness that has been threatening to swallow me whole." She looked out the window with sadness in her eyes. "I saw them recently, you know."

"How did you know it was them?" Alistair moved a chair across from Willow and sat in it.

"Aside from that fact that they look exactly like me and their father, you just know. Anders and I are planning on getting them back."

"Oh? Did Leliana and Zevran teach you their skills?"

Willow grinned slightly. "No. I wrote them letters though, but I highly doubt they will be able to help and they have yet to write back. It seems that I'll get them back by going back to the circle...their magic will awaken soon. To be honest though, I'd rather take them than have Templars take them. It can be...traumatic."

"Are you going to leave for the tower after this? Or what is your plan?"

"I'll stay with Rhiannon until this Amaranthine business is dealt with. I think she might have a heart attack if I leave and she's left to deal with it by herself." Willow looked down at her hands. They were small, soft and flecked with freckles. She suddenly felt so small and the weight of what she started weighing down on her.

The little cabin in the woods she grew up in was suddenly looking incredibly comforting.

"She's a lot stronger than what we give her credit for." Alistair paused for a moment. "I was so angry with her, and I said some very rude things. I was just so...hurt." He sounded as if he was attempting to confess to something. Or perhaps he was trying to convince himself that it was okay to have fallen in love again. "Is she alright? I mean truly."

Willow took Alistair's hands in hers. "Rhiannon is perfectly fine. She's finished piecing herself back together and is an incredibly strong leader." She shot him a smile before releasing his hands and getting out of her chair. "Don't worry about Rhiannon... Now, go tell your wife you're having twins and stop worrying. It'll make her feel better."

"Yes mother," he teased, causing Willow to laugh lightly.

"I mean it though," she reiterated while she moved to the door, "stop worrying." She left the room before he could tease her further and made her way to her room. Exhaustion washed over her as she reached the bed. She hoped she could leave soon. She had a lot to talk about with Anders; hopefully he'd be willing to go back to the circle with her.

Willow did not come this far only to lose him again.

* * *

Hello everyone! This chapter seemed to take forever for some reason...Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please RR!


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